ROBERT LOUIS STEVENSON
Robert Louis Stevenson (13 November 1850 – 3 December 1894) was a Scottish novelist, poet, essayist, and travel writer. His most famous works are Treasure Island, Kidnapped, Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, and A Child’s Garden of Verses. A literary celebrity during his lifetime, Stevenson now ranks as the 26th most translated author in the world. His works have been admired by many other writers, including Jorge Luis Borges, Bertolt Brecht, Marcel Proust, Arthur Conan Doyle, Henry James, Cesare Pavese, Emilio Salgari, Ernest Hemingway, Rudyard Kipling, Jack London, Vladimir Nabokov, J. M. Barrie, and G. K. Chesterton. (More from Wikipedia)
The other Chris Wilson song, “The Derelict” is even better – it is the “yo ho ho and a bottle of rum” pirate song. The original song was made up by Robert Louis Stevenson for his 1883 adventure tale, Treasure Island. Young Ewing Allison, a newspaperman of that era, wrote a full poem based on the short verse included in the novel. Accompanied by a gritty rock band called (appropriately enough) the Barbary Coasters (also from San Francisco), the lyrics are taken from that poem and I believe include all six stanzas. I also have the full CD by Chris Wilson that includes both songs, Back on the Barbary Coast.
(March 2015)
