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Introduction: Henry A Harlow, of Sag Harbor, New York, was 17 when he signed as a green hand in Sag Harbor whaleship Acasta, sailing on October 14, 1847 for two years in the Pacific. Twenty months into the voyage, Henry was taken by the repetitive routine of his work, particularly when there was no hunt underway, or no storm with which to contend. On Sunday, April 22, 1849, he made the following entry into his journal:
"How heavy time hangs on one's hands today. No work! No reading! or nothing but what we have read over & over again. The mind becomes stagnated. Tired of the monotonous routine of ideas which return to it again and again as if for new life. At such times how fondly the heart turns toward home, its Sabbath bells, and a thousand hollowed associations which 'fond memory bring to light.' But here we are on a wide waste of water with nothing to relieve the eye, no sound to relieve the ear except the creaking of the ship, which seems to be floating on a sea of glass, far from home & friends and all that can make life happy."
"If we could have a prospect of soon reaching home it would be a great relief, but the heart is pained by the dark uncertainty of its fondest hope being realized."
Nearly a year earlier, on May 6, 1848, Henry had expressed these same feelings in a song he wrote into his journal: "Isle of Beauty, or, Fare-Thee-Well! Sweet Long Island--Good Bye!"
About this Recording: This recording was made on Monday, March 8, 2010. Stephen Sanfilippo is the narrator and the guitarist, and Stephen and Susan Sanfilippo are the vocalists. The introductory reading and words to the song are taken from the whaling journal of Henry A Harlow, which is the in the Long Island Collection of the East Hampton Library, East Hampton, New York. The musical setting and arrangement are by Stephen Sanfilippo and Susan Sanfilippo, copyright 2009. This recording is copyright by Stephen Sanfilippo and Susan Sanfilippo, 2010, and may not be reproduced or otherwise used without their permission.
About Stephen and Susan Sanfilippo: Stephen and Susan Sanfilippo have been involved with Long Island's history for many years, as educators and as researchers and performers of historic music. Susan served as Museum Education Coordinator for the Suffolk County Historical Society from 1978 through 2006. Stephen taught American History at Longwood High School from 1974 through 2003, and following his retirement taught History of Long Island at the Eastern Campus of Suffolk County Community College. "Isle of Beauty" arose out of Stephen's research for his PhD in History at Stony Brook University, while working on his dissertation: "Whalemen's Song: Lyrics and Masculinity in the Sag Harbor Whalefishery, 1840-1850." The Sanfilippos now divide their time between Long Island's North Fork and the Maine's Downeast Coast.