Notes | Ballad of the Old NavyPoem by Burt Franklin Jennessfrom SEA LANES, edited by Burt Franklin Jenness, The Churchill Publishing Co., Boston, US, © 1921, pp. 79-80.
Adapted by Charlie Ipcar, 1/21/08 |
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The sea's a place for sailormen
Chorus:
(Chorus)
We veered an' hauled an' tacked an' beat, (Chorus)
An' we wuz ridin' even keel, (Chorus)
So Bill, he sez: "'Turn To' has gone, (Chorus)
So Bill, he took th' bigger one, (Chorus)
Th' port side light o' one wuz red, (Chorus)
For I downed him cold in th' mornin' watch. (Chorus)
Then Bill, he sez: "All's well below," (Chorus)
Two sailors rollin' down the dock, (Chorus)
In fair or stormy weather;
'Round the world an' back again –
We's all good mates together.
So cheer up, me lively lads,
In spite of stormy weather;
Cheer up, me lively lads,
Let's all get drunk together!
We went ashore last pay day night,
Bill Dykes the mate, and me;
We cruised about till we got tight;
'Twas all a glorious spree!
An' shifted course some more,
Till we fetched up on Bleecher Street,
An' steered for South Street shore.
Consid'rin' where we'd been,
Till a pair of cops put up a deal
An' tried to run us in.
I think I heard 'er blow,"
An' he winked at me, an' I wuz on,
An' then he sez: "Let's go!"
An' 'course I took th' other,
An' so help me, when th' job wuz done
Y'd think that they wuz brothers;.
Th' starb'ard showin' green;
It's just luck he wuzn't dead,
While his mate lay careened.
With his own b'layin' pin;
Th' top of his head wuz an awful splotch
An' his jaw wuz busted in.
An' he cast his weather eye
Around the street, an' sez: "Let's go,
An' leave them lubbers die."
A-makin' heavy weather,
A-hoisted in with tackle an' block,
Flung in the brig together!
The sea's a place for sailormen in fair or stormy weather;
We went ashore on pay day night, Bill Dykes, the mate, and me;
So Bill, he took th' biggest one, an' 'course I took th' other,
Two sailors rolling down the dock, and making heavy weather,
'Round the world and back again they're all good mates together.
We cruised about till we got tight an' then went on a spree.
We veered an' hauled an' tacked an' beat, an' shifted course some more,
Till we fetched up on Bleecher Street, an' steered for Jersy shore —
An' we wuz ridin' even keel, consid'rin where we'd been,
Till a pair of cops put up a deal an' tried t' run us in.
An' Bill, he sez: "'Turn To' has gone, I think I heard 'er blow,"
An' he winked at me, an' I wuz on, an' then he sez: "Les' go!"
An' s' help me, when th' job wuz done y' couldn't tell one from t'other.
Th' port side light o' one wuz green, an' th' starb'ard showin' red,
An' t'other wuz bleedin' in b'tween, an' I thought he wuz dead,
Fer I downed him cold in th' mornin' watch with his wood b'layin' pin;
An' th' top uv his head wuz an awful splotch an' his jaw wuz busted in.
'N then Bill, he sez: "Tis well b'low," an' he cast his weather eye
Aroun' the street, an' he sez: "Les' go, an' leave the' lubbers die."
A-hoisted in with tackle and block, and into the brig together.
"Turn To" is the traditional call for changing watch aboard ship.