Listen to the track:
đ” “The Kitley Belle”
Picture a crowd at Steer Point, tide coming in, and George Hodge shouting over the engine.
Verse 1
She never left the River Yealm,
She never saw the open sea.
But she could carry seventy-eight,
And that was good enough for me.
Verse 2
George Hodge was at the tiller straight,
In jacket, pipe, and cap askew.
From Noss to Thorn and back again,
He knew the tides like farmers do.
Chorus
So haul aboard the Kitley Belle,
She’ll ride the tide and ride it well.
From Steer Point down to Newton Quay,
No finer boat you’re like to see!
Verse 3
We'd board her down at Kiln Quay steps,
Or from the Yealm Hotel set out.
She’d call at Warren, call at Thorn,
With children waving all about.
Verse 4
The river wide, the current slow,
Sometimes we’d row the last short run.
If tides were low, the Belle stood back,
And skiffs would ferry everyone.
Chorus
So haul aboard the Kitley Belle,
She’ll ride the tide and ride it well.
From Steer Point down to Newton Quay,
No finer boat you’re like to see!
Bridge
To Steer Point where the railway ran,
We’d step ashore and take the train.
To Plymouth town or Yealmpton green,
And catch the Belle back home again.
Verse 5
But when the railway line was lost,
The Belle was sold, her journey done.
They changed her name to Tamar Belle,
And sailed her under Plymouth sun.
Final Chorus
So raise a cheer for Kitley Belle,
She rode the Yealm and rode it well.
She kept her course and held her line,
A river queen in her own time!