"Henry Martin" (also "Henry Martyn" or "The Lofty Tall Ship") (Roud 104, Child 167/250) is a traditional Scottish folk song about Henry Martin (formerly "Andrew Barton"), a seafarer who turns to piracy to support his two older brothers. Writing in 1975, the musician and folklorist A. L. Lloyd described Henry Martin as "one of the most-sung ballads of our time."[1]
The story of Andrew Bartin, based on the original ballad, was included in Francis James Child's collection of The English and Scottish Popular Ballads (Child's Ballads), as Child Ballad 167.[2] However, over the years, through oral tradition, the song had been significantly shortened and the name of the protagonist changed from Andrew Barton to Henry Martin (or Henry Martyn).[1] In this form, the tale also appears in Child's Ballads as Child Ballad 250.[3]
Many popular modern recordings were inspired by Joan Baez's 1960 cover of the traditional Welsh singer Phil Tanner's 1937 recording.