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Musical History of the S.S. Columbia

Posted by SSrustworthy on 1/22/23

Today’s topic: the music of the Sailing Ship Columbia or (S.S. Columbia). I have ignored where/what narration plays for the sake of just compiling what tracks are being played generally alongside the narration. Over time, the Norman Luboff Choir tracks are being removed and replaced with shorter edits of Toucan Pirates songs.

I tried my best to create a timeline of narration track changes, but my reference material is limited. Insights from others are always welcome!

‘Docked Seaman’ Loop

Magic Music member ex-wdi referred to this loop as the “Docked Seaman” loop, which was played when the Columbia was docked in Fowler's Harbour, prepping for the day and was 14:58 in length [1]. DL Flight 295 made reference to this loop, stating that it was created for a 1980's renovation for the Below Decks exhibit [1].

RocketRodsXPR has stated, “When talking about Columbia's music, there are a few tracks that I've only heard in situ when the Columbia was being prepped at Fowler's Harbor and when it was backing into position at the dock. Once the Rivers switch track reconnected and it was ready to load, the music changed to the ones we know so well (with Thurl).” He has created a reconstruction based on the audio he captured live on a recording from May 1997, which runs 14:08. As to the time discrepancy, if this is indeed the Docked Seaman loop, he says either “there's either another song missing OR there's enough screwed up with the LP version online (which has skips and all) to shorten it.”

I created the track listing below based on his reconstruction. All tracks appear to be from side A of a 1973 vinyl “Songs & Sounds Of The Sea” on the National Geographic Society label which is currently out of print. The record has ocean noises that run behind and between every track.

Sailing Ship Columbia_ Harbor Docking BGM (1973) 1.mp3

https://mega.nz/file/E4AXlZBD#b2N4UMRM8GUMe_UR2C61N6v7wFfYzU2wSK9g_7tQqzY] (https://mega.nz/file/E4AXlZBD#b2N4UMRM8GUMe_UR2C61N6v7wFfYzU2wSK9g_7tQqzY%5D)

  1. The Dreadnought - Songs & Sounds Of The Sea
  2. Money in Both Pockets / Blow, Ye Winds - Songs & Sounds Of The Sea
  3. Boston Harbor - Songs & Sounds Of The Sea
  4. Jolly Roving Tar - Songs & Sounds Of The Sea
  5. Patsy Campbell / The Whale Catchers - Songs & Sounds Of The Sea
  6. Wheat In The Ear - Songs & Sounds Of The Sea

Unknown start date - December 24, 1998

Magic Music member ex-wdi listed this as the tracklist for the Columbia Music Proper [1], and other members confirmed that this listing lines up with their recordings as far back as the 80s [1]. RocketRodsXPR has referenced the Luboff track order was last used in December 1998 when the major accident occurred [2].

Length of narration: ~00:14:21

  1. Blow The Man Down - Norman Luboff Choir - Songs of the Sea
  2. Clear The Track - Norman Luboff Choir - Songs of the Sea
  3. The Boston Come All Ye - Norman Luboff Choir - Songs of the Sea (followed by narration)
  4. One More Day - Norman Luboff Choir - Songs of the Sea (followed by narration)
  5. Rollin’ Home - Norman Luboff Choir - Songs of the Sea (edited; followed by narration)
  6. Blow Ye Winds? (Not much is known about this one; might be a load/unload track. Blow Ye Winds is also a lyric from “The Boston Come All Ye”)

Edit: A 1998 track has been unearthed which points to this track as being “Homeward Bound” by the Norman Luboff Choir.

June 1999 - May 2007 (?)

The Sailing Ship Columbia reopened in June 1999 after the accident in 1998. It is presumed that the narration had changed at reopening, although I don’t have any 1999 videos to verify [2]. The below track list was verified via videos from July 2003 [3] and July 2005 [4].

The biggest change from the pre-98 narration seems to be the inclusion of “Away Rio” from The Wind In The Rigging, an album which features prominently in the Columbia Harbour House area music at WDW’s Liberty Square.

  1. Blow The Man Down - Norman Luboff Choir - Songs of the Sea
  2. This is audible at the end of the 2005 video, immediately following the journey
  3. Away Rio - David Coffin, Kevin Fallon, Otis Read - The Wind in the Rigging (track 2; out of print)
  4. Note, this is audible in the 2005 video from 0:54 to 1:04 when the ship is in loading position

  1. Clear The Track - Norman Luboff Choir - Songs of the Sea
  2. The Boston Come All Ye - Norman Luboff Choir - Songs of the Sea
  3. One More Day - Norman Luboff Choir - Songs of the Sea
  4. Away Rio - David Coffin, Kevin Fallon, Otis Read - The Wind in the Rigging (track 2)
  5. Rollin’ Home - Norman Luboff Choir - Songs of the Sea

The Wind In The Rigging album is out of print. You can hear the track used on the S.S. Columbia in this YouTube upload of the full album at the 1:20 timestamp [5].

May 2007 (?) - January 4, 2010

I couldn’t find any full narration reference videos, so I looked at several shorter videos that were uploaded in 2008 and 2009 [6-9]. I couldn’t find any videos that featured load/unload.

With the introduction of Pirate’s Lair on Tom Sawyer’s Island, several Toucan Pirates tracks were introduced that removed some of the Norman Luboff Choir selections.

  1. Clear The Track - Norman Luboff Choir - Songs of the Sea
  2. The Boston Come All Ye - Norman Luboff Choir - Songs of the Sea
  3. One More Day - Norman Luboff Choir - Songs of the Sea
  4. Turpin Hero - Toucan Pirates - Sea Changes of the Toucan Pirates
  5. Away Rio - David Coffin, Kevin Fallon, Otis Read - The Wind in the Rigging (track 2)
  6. Whiskey Before Breakfast - Toucan Pirates - Sea Changes of the Toucan Pirates
  7. The Jib Polka - Toucan Pirates - Sea Changes of the Toucan Pirates
  8. The Old-Rigged Ship - Toucan Pirates - Sea Changes of the Toucan Pirates

May/June 2010 - January 11, 2016 (before renovation)

Given the change in the Mark Twain’s narration in October 2010, it seems likely that the S.S. Columbia’s new narration debuted around that time as well. This list here was compiled using reference videos from 2013 and 2016 (and briefly verifying with a few 2010 videos) [10, 11].

Aside from possible changes in load/unload music, the only change seemed to be the switch from “Turpin Hero” to “The Reconciliation” which makes more sense as it’s played just after the cannon goes off and the tone seems to hint at a reconcilation after battle (also see the album title).

  1. Blow The Man Down - Norman Luboff Choir - Songs of the Sea

  1. Clear The Track - Norman Luboff Choir - Songs of the Sea
  2. The Boston Come All Ye - Norman Luboff Choir - Songs of the Sea
  3. One More Day - Norman Luboff Choir - Songs of the Sea
  4. The Reconciliation - Toucan Pirates - Battle Songs of the Toucan Pirates
  5. Away Rio - David Coffin, Kevin Fallon, Otis Read - The Wind in the Rigging (track 2)
  6. Whiskey Before Breakfast - Toucan Pirates - Sea Changes of the Toucan Pirates
  7. The Jib Polka - Toucan Pirates - Sea Changes of the Toucan Pirates
  8. The Old-Rigged Ship - Toucan Pirates - Sea Changes of the Toucan Pirates

July 2017 - Present (as of Jan 2023)

At last… Audio Network makes an appearance! How could it not?

I referenced the Park Sensory podcast [12] and then checked with other YouTube videos from 2017 and 2019.

  1. Blow The Man Down - Norman Luboff Choir - Songs of the Sea
  2. Turpin Hero - Toucan Pirates - Sea Changes of the Toucan Pirates

  1. Clear The Track - Norman Luboff Choir - Songs of the Sea
  2. One More Day - Norman Luboff Choir - Songs of the Sea
  3. Away Rio - David Coffin, Kevin Fallon, Otis Read - The Wind in the Rigging (track 2)
  4. The Old-Rigged Ship - Toucan Pirates - Sea Changes of the Toucan Pirates
  5. The Staines Morris - Toucan Pirates - Battle Songs of the Toucan Pirates
  6. Fare Ye Well 2202/9 - Richard Lacy, David Bird, Terry Maskill - Maritime ANW 2202 (note, this starts at 1:11 of the ANW track)
  7. The Reconciliation - Toucan Pirates - Battle Songs of the Toucan Pirates
  8. Whiskey Before Breakfast - Toucan Pirates - Sea Changes of the Toucan Pirates
  9. The Jib Polka - Toucan Pirates - Sea Changes of the Toucan Pirates

References

[1] https://community.magicmusic.net/threads/columbia-tracks.1518/post-10178

[2] https://mousebits.com/smf/index.php?topic=6977.msg58700#msg58700

[3] https://youtu.be/E6QaWzQnyNU

[4] https://youtu.be/ssZTMI-F9oo

[5] https://youtu.be/j95YGe7FQG0?t=80

[6] https://youtu.be/0zLJVhIvJTE

[7] https://youtu.be/VWJyKdJ4u8I?t=106

[8] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KDMoRZQWzK8

[9] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=woOfz-xHGNU

[10] https://youtu.be/oTRhnLypEKY

[11] https://youtu.be/0cw5uYrqnLk

[12] https://park-sensory.simplecast.com/episodes/sailing-ship-columbia


Updated post (1/29/23)

Since my initial posting, a 1998 track containing both narration and music was identified which appears to be in the same order as the v.1 narration listing. This track seems fairly compressed and low-quality, but isn't a live recording.

In any case, the last track in my original posting lists "Blow Ye Winds?" as the last track. This new 1998 track has the last track as "Homeward Bound" by the Norman Luboff Choir, which repeats that phrase often throughout the song.

Therefore, this mystery of track #6 in the pre-1998 loop may be solved!

Lyrics:

The wind blows fair, the wind blows free

Then blow ye winds, Hi-Ho ye winds

Across the wide and rolling sea

Then blow ye winds, Hi-Ho ye winds

Our sails are full all night and day

Then blow ye winds, Hi-Ho ye winds

But home is ever far away

Then blow ye winds, Hi-Ho ye winds

I long to see a sign of land

Then blow ye winds, Hi-Ho ye winds

I long to touch my sweetheart's hand

Then blow ye winds, Hi-Ho ye winds

Our ship has sailed the world around

Then blow ye winds, Hi-Ho ye winds

And thank the Lord we're homeward bound

Then blow ye winds, Hi-Ho ye winds

Blow ye winds, Hi-Ho ye winds

Blow ye winds, Hi-Ho