Ellan vannin

Ellan Vannin is the Manx name for the Isle of Man located centrally in the Irish Sea between England and Ireland. The poem and song Ellan Vannin is fondly known as the alternative Isle of Man National Anthem. Ellan Vannin was the name given to Isle of Man Steam Packet ships. The Ellan Vannin Tradgedy refers to a ship that sank 3rd December 1909 en route from the Isle of Man to Liverpool. The song was written and performed by Liverpool based group The Spinners.

Eliza Craven Green Poem

Written in 1854. Music was later added by J. Townsend

When the summer day is over

And the busy cares have flown,

Then I sit beneath the starlight

With a weary heart. alone,

And there rises like a vision,

Sparkling bright in nature's glee,

My own dear Ellan Vannin

With its green hills by the sea.

Then I hear the wavelets murmur

As they kiss the fairy shore,

Then beneath the em'rald waters

Sings the mermaid as of yore,

And the fair Isle shines with beauty

As in youth it dawned on me,

My own dear Ellan Vannin

With its green hills by the sea.

Then mem'ries sweet and tender

Come like music's plaintive flow,

Of someone in Ellan Vannin

That lov'd me long ago,

So I give with tears and blessings,

And my fondest thoughts to thee,

My own dear Ellan Vannin

With its green hills by the sea.

The Bee Gees Version

The Bee Gees recorded a version for Isle of Man charities. They also included the song in their World Tour as a show of pride in the place of their birth.

When the summer day is over,

Its busy cares have flown,

I will sit beneath the starlight,

With a weary heart alone.

Then it rises like a vision

Sparkling bright it shines for me

My own dear Ellan Vannin

With it's green hills by the sea

Let me hear the ocean murmur

Let me watch your stormy sky

Then above the emerald waters

Sings the seagull as she flies

Then it rises like a vision

Sparkling bright it shines for me

My own dear Ellan Vannin

With it's green hills by the sea

And in all my times of sorrow

And on some lonely shore

I'll go back to Ellan Vannin

To my childhood days once more

The Ellan Vannin Tradgedy 1909

On the 3rd of December 1909 the SS Ellan Vannin departed the Isle of Man heading for Liverpool carrying 21 crew, 15 passengers, mail and cargo.

On the approach to the Mersey River, Liverpool, the ship was overwhelmed by 20 foot waves when the rough seas turned into a Force 11 storm. The ship sank with loss of all on board.

Lyrics and Music by Hugh E. Jones - The Spinners.

Snaefell, Tynwald, Ben My Chree

Fourteen ships had sailed the sea

Proudly bearing a Manx name

But there’s one will never again