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about

Mrs Chippy & Harry McNish boarded the ill-fated Endurance in 1914— ‘she’ was in fact a tabby tomcat belonging to the Glaswegian carpenter and became the ship’s pet and rodent controller. Shackleton’s failed quest to cross the Antarctic continent nearly ended with the loss of the entire crew. McNish was never formally acknowledged for his vital role in keeping the lifeboats seaworthy, enabling rescue of all the men, until a statue of his ‘Mrs Chips’ was placed on his Wellington grave by the New Zealand Antarctic Society in 2004, 74 years after his death following ill-health.
The song features a pipes tune based on the reel ‘The Stone Frigate’ by former Pipe Major Donald Carrigan of Canada Black Watch, Royal Highlanders of Canada. Originally from Nova Scotia, Don was a piping instructor at the Royal Military College, Ontario. The title of the reel is the name given to the barracks there where many student naval officers stayed, without a vessel and far from the ocean. See: ‘The Gathering of the Clans Collection—a collection of music, photographs and historical essays, Volume 2’ by Barry W. Shears (2001).

lyrics

Mrs Chippy & Harry McNish
© Helen Dorothy (2012)

For honour and recognition and for small wages it is told
The crew of the 'Endurance' braves the dark and the bitter cold
The Imperial Trans Antarctic Team—trapped on the icy Weddell Sea
Twenty-eight men, dogs and a shipwright's cat bound for one man's destiny

The shipwright he is Harry McNish, Mrs Chips devoted feline friend
A single shot rings out across the ice as Shackleton orders her bitter cold end
The Imperial Trans Antarctic Team—wrecked on the frozen Weddell Sea
The sledges they haul to the Elephant Isle bound to one man’s destiny

Harry prepares the wee 'James Caird' for a journey on the open sea
Fifteen days, 800 miles, to the whaling station where help will be
No polar medal does he receive, nor comfort as he grows old
But now Mrs Chippy, bold in brass, lies upon his rested soul

Now there are tales to make us wonder and tales that leave us blue
And there are tales that we would rather not share—tales that tear us clean in two
So here's a tale to make you feel warm, I hope it will appeal to you
It's the tale of a man and his feline friend; they were companions through and through

So, here's a tale to make you feel warm
I hope it will appeal to you
The tale of Mrs Chippy and Harry McNish
Bound together, still loyal and true

credits

from Watching Ghosts​.​.​.​and Other Songs, released September 16, 2013
Helen Dorothy - vocals, acoustic guitar, mandola, glass
Oscar West - Scottish smallpipes

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Helen Dorothy New Zealand

Helen Dorothy is “an acoustic folk artist in an honest sense” (NZ Musician, 2009). She writes "beautifully-crafted, intelligent songs rich in memorable imagery" (fRoots Magazine, Jan 2014).

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