The Sailor Returning Home

This song was commissioned by Rebecca Leggett for a recital with a Sussex theme. The poet Charlotte Turner Smith lived a large part of her life on the Bignor Park estate outside of Pulborough.
 
The poem that we selected was was written while she was staying in Exmouth, Devon. There, she happened to witness a rather astonishing event - a sailor who had been imprisoned in Rochefort, France, was returning home, and a crowd had gathered to meet him.