Thea Foss
(Song by: Chris Roe – Performed by: Chris Roe & Tim Roe – Song Notes: by Alice Winship)
Chris Roe
LYRICS
She could have stayed in Norway, lived the servant’s life
Maybe settled down a little later on to be a farmer’s wife
But Thea was not the kind of woman who took life lying down
And when she met the love of her life, it was farewell to Oslo town!
And it was hard scrabble for a country girl on the streets of Oslo town
And it’s many a hard-earned dollar to get you from there to Puget Sound
It’s a grand story how she made her way, where the transport vessels roam
Hauling the big boys out to sea, and bringing them safe back home
Now Andrew Foss was a man in love, and you know he would have paid her way
He’d earned that passage three times over on a Minnesota carpenter’s pay
But he found out when he was almost ready to send for his wife to be
She’d made every penny of her own way there and was halfway across the sea
And it was hard scrabble, but they had each other and a love of the great unknown
Working harder than they ever would have done, under the cold Norwegian sun
Making their way to the great Northwest where the transport vessels roam
Hauling the big boys out to sea, and bringing them safe back home
It was nine long years from the time she landed ‘til they made that final haul
To Tacoma’s inland waterways from the city of Saint Paul
There was business there a-plenty, there was money to be made
For a woman with a love of enterprise and a man in the building trade
It was hard scrabble on the back wash docks in the belly of Commencement Bay
But it was heart’s joy to a mind that sees beyond the passing day
It was a life journey to the Northwest waters where the transport vessels roam
Hauling the big boys out to sea and bringing them safe back home
Now Andrew’s off making their board and bread out on the Longbranch strand
There’s a stranger with a boat to sell, and Thea with cash in hand
And after Andrew’s job was finished, after Thea’s deal was done
They were richer by a fleet of working skiffs and a business of their own
And it was hard scrabble but it goes to show you when it comes to paying dues
You can serve the ones you were born to serve, or you can serve the ones you choose
And their boats still work the Northwest waters where the transport vessels roam
Hauling the big boys out to sea, and bringing them safe back home!
NOTES
This song, written and performed by Chris Roe, is about the founder of Foss Maritime, Thea Foss. It’s a gentle ballad that grows on you with repeated hearings.
You can read the story from Foss Maritime and History Link about how Thea Foss began with one rowboat and went on to build one of the West Coast’s largest tugboat companies.
I like how Chris Roe sings this as a love story between Thea and Andrew Foss, without getting soppy about it. It’s often pointed out what an unusual woman Thea Foss was for the nineteenth century, and she is a hero of modern feminism. She was an amazing woman. But there might have been other 19th century women of potential financial genius who didn’t have what Thea Foss did – a supportive husband. Most men of that time would have forbidden their wife to engage in business, or would have taken over financial management. Instead, Andrew did what he did best – building more boats. For his time, Andrew was even more unusual than Thea.
Another coffee note: The slogan on the Foss logo, ‘Always Ready’, was said to refer to the pot of coffee that Thea kept in her office for customers, as well as to the tugs.
- Words and music by Chris Roe
- Recorded at ShoeString Studios, Edmonds, WA
- Performed by Chris Roe and Tim Roe
- Lead vocal: Chris Roe
- Guitar: Jim Roe