"Drunken Sailor" is a sea shanty, also known as "What Shall We Do with a/the Drunken Sailor?"
The shanty was sung to accompany certain work tasks aboard sailing ships, especially those that required a bright walking pace. It is believed to originate in the early 19th century or before, during a period when ships' crews, especially those of military vessels, were large enough to permit hauling a rope whilst simply marching along the deck. With the advent of merchant packet and clipper ships and their smaller crews, which required different working methods, use of the shanty appears to have declined or shifted to other, minor tasks.
History[]
The first published description of the shanty is found in an account of an 1839 whaling voyage out of New London, Connecticut to the Pacific Ocean. It was used as an example of a song that was "performed with very good effect when there is a long line of men hauling together". The tune was noted, along with these lyrics:
Ho! Ho! and up she rises.
Ho! Ho! and up she rises.
Ho! Ho! and up she rises,
Early in the morning
Although this is the earliest discovered published mention, there is some indication that the shanty is at least as old as the 1820s. In Eckstorm and Smyth's collection Minstrelsy of Maine (published 1927), the editors note that one of their grandmothers, who sang the song, claimed to have heard it used during the task of tacking on the Penobscot River "probably [by the time of the editor's reportage] considerably over a hundred years ago".
Lyrics[]
[Verse 1]
What will we do with a drunken sailor?
What will we do with a drunken sailor?
What will we do with a drunken sailor?
Early in the morning
[Chorus]
Way hay and up she rises
Way hay and up she rises
Way hay and up she rises
Early in the morning
[Verse 2]
Shave his belly with a rusty razor
Shave his belly with a rusty razor
Shave his belly with a rusty razor
Early in the morning
[Chorus]
Way hay and up she rises
Way hay and up she rises
Way hay and up she rises
Early in the morning
[Verse 3]
Put him in a long boat 'til he's sober
Put him in a long boat 'til he's sober
Put him in a long boat 'til he's sober
Early in the morning
[Chorus]
Way hay and up she rises
Way hay and up she rises
Way hay and up she rises
Early in the morning
[Verse 4]
Stick him in the scupper with a hosepipe on him
Stick him in the scupper with a hosepipe on him
Stick him in the scupper with a hosepipe on him
Early in the morning
[Chorus]
Way hay and up she rises
Way hay and up she rises
Way hay and up she rises
Early in the morning
[Verse 5]
Put him in the bed with the captain's daughter
Put him in the bed with the captain's daughter
Put him in the bed with the captain's daughter
Early in the morning
[Chorus]
Way hay and up she rises
Way hay and up she rises
Way hay and up she rises
Early in the morning
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[Bridge]
That's what we do with a drunken sailor
That's what we do with a drunken sailor
That's what we do with a drunken sailor
Early in the morning
[Chorus]
Way hay and up she rises
Way hay and up she rises
Way hay and up she rises
Early in the morning
Way hay and up she rises
Way hay and up she rises
Way hay and up she rises
Early in the morning