Shipboard and bar ditty’s half remembered .

[j.sabourn]

Vaguely in memory bank , others maybe able to complete or add to….
I was drunk last night ,drunk the night before , gonna get drunk tonight like I’ve never been drunk before……… ( not a teetotallers song)

Roll me over in the Clover Roll me over turn me round and do it again………..probably originated in an Irish mind on a UCL vessel.

We were leaving Rangoon by the light of the moon sailing by night and by day and while we’re in motion were the pride of the Ocean you can’t see our AH for spray.
……..AH doesn’t stand for Alfred Holts.

Down the gangway we will go, engineers in a row, bye bye Blackbird ……..blackbird infers the name of the song and ship ones on.


………..This 3 legged Doxfords beginning to stink , another engineers song .
There are many verses belonging to these ditties that’s ditties not titties and dozens of others . Anyone remember them with the correct words ?
JS

[Graham Shaw]

Going back 50 years or so as a cadet ,learning ditties and songs whilst supposedly learning splicing,boxing the compass ,blah blah,in the QM's mess on a Saturday afternoon at sea(Cans of Tennents (Girls ) lager,remember them,?surreptitiously hidden on knees in case Mr,Mate decided to take a walk on deck to check up on his cadets afore his post prandial kip 'till 4 o'clock.)

Vaguely recall two, like....

♫ I put my finger in the Woodpecker's hole,and the woodpecker cried 'God Bless my Soul' ,REMOVE it !♫

then consecutive verses end in a simpering ....REVOLVE it!♫
finally ,in disgust .....,REVOLTING !♫


Also, to the tune of Valencia,or Barcelona could be just as well-


♫Valencia !

Put your nose between your toes
and Lick your Sweaty Feet
You Dirty Bastard !♫

Ha Ha !

Anyway,going now in case I seriously embarrass myself !

[Graham Shaw]

...and of course the old wartime ditty of 'Bless 'em All',also known as the Troopship song,which was very frequently sung in messrooms and at hissups (careful) ! )on Bibby,British India,Paddy Hendersons etc.cargo ships,long after the demise of the old troopships,particularly when there were still a few long-serving ex troopship crew aboard,and we were on broadly similar runs out to Bombay ,Colombo and on to Rangoon.All good fun to us young cadets and crew who learnt the lines and sang them with gusto. It was good comradeship as well. It was a good 10 to 15 years after the troopship era,and all deployments were moving by air,when I went to sea,and I think,wartime or not I would have loved serving on troopships...



♫They say there's a troopship just leavin' Bombay, bound for old Blighty shore,
Heavily laden with time-expired men, bound for the land they adore.
There's many an airman just finishing his time, there's many a twerp signin' on.
You'll get no promotion this side of the ocean, so cheer up my lads, bless 'em all.
♫Bless 'em all,
Bless 'em all,
The long and the short and the tall,
Bless all the Sergeants and W.O.1s,
Bless all the corp'rals and their blinkin'/bleedin' sons,
'Cos we're sayin' goodbye to 'em all.
As back to their billets they crawl,
You'll get no promotion this side of the ocean, so cheer up my lads, bless 'em all.
They say if you work hard you'll get better pay.
We've heard all that before.
Clean up your buttons and polish your boots,
Scrub out the barrack room floor.
There's many a rookie has taken it in, hook, line, and sinker an' all.
You'll get no promotion this side of the ocean, so cheer up my lads, bless 'em all.
Bless 'em all,
Bless 'em all,
The long and the short and the tall,
Bless all the sergeants and W.O. 1s,
Bless all the corp'rals and their blinkin'/bleedin' sons,
'Cos we're sayin' goodbye to 'em all.
As back to their billets they crawl,
You'll get no promotion this side of the ocean, so cheer up my lads, bless 'em all.
Now they say that the sergeant's a very nice chap, oh what a tale to tell.
Ask him for leave on a Saturday night; he'll pay your fare home as well.
There's many an airman has blighted his life through writing rude words on the wall.
You'll get no promotion this side of the ocean, so cheer up my lads, bless 'em all.
Bless 'em all,
Bless 'em all,
The long and the short and the tall,
Bless all the sergeants and W.O. 1s,
Bless all the corp'rals and their blinkin'/bleedin' sons,
'Cos we're sayin' goodbye to 'em all.
As back to their billets they crawl,
You'll get no promotion this side of the ocean, so cheer up my lads, bless 'em all.
Nobody knows what a twerp you have been, so cheer up my lads, bless 'em all.♫


{I had to google all the words ',cos it was many moons ago !}
Of course,Bless 'em All was too mild a phrase and the ubiquitous 4 letter word beginning with F was always sung,wasn't it !?

[Des Taff Jenkins]

Thanks Graham
Memories of drunken times, you mention Rangoon, Lovely people before the bloody army spoilt it, Taxi dancers for a few pence, but no taking home, just as well my mother would have wondered what I was up to.
Des

[j.sabourn]

Nothing wrong with taking a taxi home Des , your mother should have applauded your safety mindedness. ? JS

[happy daze john in oz]

Taxi, you have to pay them.
Cheaper in the 'divy' van but not so comfortable

[j.sabourn]

Under the priviiges of being a semi invalid and true patriot ? I get supplied with a half fare discount John. Still can be very expensive so really need this gesture of benevolence. Mind if they also supplied a taxi girl to complete the circle, would be too many false representations for such I reckon. Did you get the email of the cuddly little Polar Bear ? Pity they don’t have them in the Southern Hemisphere. Cheers JS

[Mike Hewitt]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/One_Mo...the_Four_of_Us
https://www.bbc.co.uk/history/ww2peo...a1941482.shtml

[John Arton]

Then of course is the engineers song, the lyrics of which cannot be repeated here but start with the line,
"An engineer told me that he new a lady with a c***t so wide that she could never be satisfied"
Chorus
"A bum titty bum, a bum titty bum"

Rgds
J.A.

[James Curry]

#9 I think the first line is.
An engineer told me he died ah hum!! an engineer told before died he knew a woman, well it gets a bit Bawdy as it continues.

Roll me over in the clover.

Verse 1]
Well, this is number one
And we've only has just begun
Roll me over, lay me down, and do it again

[Chorus]
Roll me over in the clover
Roll me over, lay me down, and do it again

[Verse 2]
Well, this is number two
If he can cough up a dubloon
Roll me over, lay me down, and do it again

[Chorus]
Roll me over in the clover
Roll me over, lay me down, and do it again

[Verse 3]
Well, this is number three
But with his lass I'd rather be
Roll me over, lay me down, and do it again

[Chorus]
Roll me over in the clover
Roll me over, lay me down, and do it again

That is the polite version.