SEA SHANTY
There was Port and there was Starboard,
But they used to call Port: Larboard.
And the two dogs on the fo'csle held the chain.
Then there's For'd and there's Aft
Which is (from A'beam,) A'baft,
And the Mizzen never stands A'fore the Main.
There were Farmers (without pigs,)
A-rabs, Lascars, Schooner Rigs,
Lots of (right hand,) feeding after Ramadan.
There was Panama and Mokes,
And a mob of red eyed blokes
From the 12 to 4 Watch, eyeing the Blackpan.
You could Heave To, Broach, Careen,
Two of fat and one of lean
Hungry Harrisons' (from out of Liverpool.)
Or 'buff with black on top'
Where the Bosun's name was Bop,
And both his thumbs were Fids, (a splicing tool.)
You could 'Stand By' or 'Turn To'
Take the Trick from twelve til two'
Rig a Jumbo or just Holystone the Deck;
Chippin'ammer 'cross the Atlantic,
Whitelead'n'tallow the Triatic,
Watch the Stemhead break the ice up near Quebec.
There were Tabnabs, there was Scouse,
Scuppers, Bulwarks, a Wheelhouse,
And drums were lashed A'baft the Lazerette.
You could 'Skin Out' of a Tanker,
Paint the Truck a'top the Spanker,
Soogie Funnels, hung on Gantlines, Fleet by Fleet.
You could 'Sign On' and 'Pay Off',
Turn your head away and cough;
Get the 'Channels' when the orders were Lands End.
Shackle to a Samson Post,
Blame the Liverpool Man's Ghost,
Or there's always an Allotment you could send.
There were Ratlines and Crosstrees,
No Blue Jeans, just Dungarees;
Fifteen hundred 'Girls' for hire down in Recife.
There were 'Plummers' down the 'Mouth',
One of Ropner's heading south,
Where the mail would go ashore at Tenerife.
There were Shifting Boards and Dunnage
And you knew the average tonnage
Of a Port Boat, steaming by at Fifteen Knots.
The Welsh Donkeyman from Hants
And the slack in Trimmer's pants,
And the 4 to 8 Watch, stinking in their cots.
Shonky Bum Boats at Port Said,
Gun'ls, Gimbals and Redlead;
Roaring Forties, Round the Horn and Abadan.
There were Palm and Needle Whippings,
Lots of Mother Carey's chickens,
And a Fine Bone China Tea Set, from Japan.
There were Doxfords and Twin Screws,
And the strangest looking stews
Came from Galleys' where the cook was often called
Names that questioned if his Dad
Had been married, or just mad,
Or just needed all his tackle overhauled.
The Red Duster, Carrick Bend,
Take a turn on the Drum End;
Starboard Helm, now, Steady As She Goes.
Port Side Bitts, Pacific Swells,
1 to 6 HEAVE, Seven Bells;
Get that Stopper on, LOOK LIVELY ON YOUR TOES.
Stockholm Tar and Cleaning Tanks,
Liberty Ships and Dogger banks,
Shifting Ship round to the Royal Edward Dock.
Monkey's Fist, Splice with the Lay,
First and Last, Logged two day's pay,
Last Pierhead Jump before She's through the Lock.
Hatchboards, Coamings, Bosun's Chair,
Bowsed right in under the Flare,
New Year's 16 Bells (in Denmark's Esbjerg Sound.)
Mouse that Hook and Masthead Light,
Malacca Straits, Australian Bight,
Sixteen Indian Rupees to the Pound.
Oakum, Sextant, Fo'csle Head;
Maracaibo, Swing the Lead;
Drop the Pilot, Single Up and Spit a'lee.
Capstan Full Strength, On the Rake,
Sounds that sailors used to make;
Merchant Seamen's sounds that floated on the sea.
All these strange sounds; now they're gone;
Merchant Seamen lost their song;
The Iron Ships rust; the Wooden Men quietly gaze,
Reminiscing in their beer,
"Remember: Elson...Hopton...Kear...??"
"I wonder what they're doing, now-a-days."
Reg Kear © 1992. Australia