Great Big Sea fans love the song 'Lukey' and so do I. The song is still part of the current Alan Doyle set list. 'Lukey' is one of those songs that gets a fan up dancing and singing where ever you are despite the content of the song.
Until recently, like many fans I always thought the song 'Lukey' was written by Great Big Sea's Alan Doyle, Sean McCann and Bob Hallett. But after a brief search about 'Lukey' I found out the author is unknown and it is a traditional Newfoundland song with many versions and many folk groups have recorded their versions today.
The Wikipedia entry for 'Lukey's Boat' states '..."Lukey's Boat" is a comical folk song originating from the east coast of Newfoundland. Given its metre, it may have derived from a sea shanty.
There are many minor variations of the song, depending on the singer; however it is essentially about the characteristics of the title boat, with the last few stanzas about Lukey returning home to find his wife dead and buried (which appears not to grieve him much, as he'll have another "in the spring of the year"). The earliest printed version was in "Ballads from Nova Scotia" (1932) by Helen Creighton, listed as "Loakie's Boat".
It was recorded as "Lukey" by Great Big Sea for their 1995 album Up, by Great Big Sea with The Chieftains for the 1998 album Fire in the Kitchen, by Fiddler's Green, a German folk band, for their 2007 album Drive Me Mad!, and The Kreellers on Sixth and Porter released in 2008..."
The screen shot of the photograph copied below is from the official Alan Doyle Instagram account. No copyright infringement intended.
I have circulated a copy of the music video 'Lukey' on my Google + page.
