What Shall We Do With A Drunken Sailor?

What Shall We Do With A Drunken Sailor?

What Shall We Do With A Drunken Sailor?/Going To Boston/Kate Lay Sleeping

American, Reel and Air (originally Irish)- USA, Southwestern Pa.

ARTIST: Bayard (Dance to the Fiddle), 1981; No. 251, pgs. 214-215.

CATEGORY: Fiddle and Instrumental Tunes DATE: 1792-1800’s tune; 1900’s lyrics

RECORDING INFO- Tune: Traditional Music in America, Folklore Associates, Bk (1940/1965), p 74c; Cronin, Paddy. Rakish Paddy, Fiddler FRLP 002, LP (1975), cut# 9; Monger, Eileen. Lilting Banshee, Saydisc SDL 348, LP (1985), cut#B.02; Killen, Lou and Sally. Bright Shining Morning, Front Hall FHR 006, LP (1975), cut#B.01

RECORDING INFO-What Shall We Do With the Drunken Sailor: Traditional Music in America, Folklore Associates, Bk (1940/1965), p389b (Drunken Sailor); Cox, Dennis & Lori. Tarbot Anthology. Cape Breton's Music Festival, Shag Rock SOTH 0001, LP (1978), cut#A.06; Crofters. Crofters, London SW 99535, LP (197?), cut#A.03 (Drunken Sailor); Kingston Trio. At Large, Capitol T 1199, LP (1959), B.04 (Early in the Morning); MacArthur, Margaret. How to Play the MacArthur Harp, Front Hall FHRBP 1005, Cas (1986), cut#p.36 (Drunken Sailor); Maitland, Richard. American Sea Songs and Shanties (I), Library of Congress AFS L26, LP (195?), cut#A.03 (Drunken Sailor); McGuire, Barry; and Barry Kane. Star Folk Volume 3, Surrey S-1022, LP (197?), cut#A.03 (Drunken Sailor); Seeger, Pete. American Favorite Ballads. Volume 4. Tunes and Songs, Folkways FA 2323, LP (1963), cut#B.06; The Group. 'The Group' Visits Puget Sound, Golden Crest CR 3056, LP (196?), cut#B.03 (Drunken Sailor); Twelve Buccaneers. Shanties, Boulevard 4071, LP (1972), cut#B.09 (Drunken Sailor); Unknown. Folk Music USA. Vol. 1, Folkways FE 4530, LP (1959), cut#B.03 (Drunken Sailor)

OTHER NAMES: AKA Columbus Cotillion: "The Drunken Sailor" is another title for this English country dance tune, published in America around 1792 and popular in the early 19th century. It has been used for numerous songs, play party tunes and ditties, including "Ten Little Indians," "Going to Boston," "The Monkey's Wedding," and is also a well known French Canadian square dance tune. "Kate's Laid in the Hay," "Round and Round the Green Sugar Tree," "Whitewashed Kate."

SAME MELODY: "Going To Boston," "Goodbye Girls We're Going To Boston," “Drunken Sailor/What Shall We Do With the Drunken Sailor;” "Ten Little Indians;" "The Monkey's Wedding,"

RELATED MELODY: "Come Philander" “Charming Molly;” “Goin' to Boston;” “Old Brass Wagon”

SOURCES: Harry Wingrove (Westmoreland County, Pa., 1946), Charles Clark (Fayette County, Pa., 1946), Eben Patterson (Allegheny County, Pa., 1930's), Samuel Losch (Juniata County, Pa., 1930's) [Bayard]. Bayard (Dance to the Fiddle), 1981; No. 251, pgs. 214-215.

SOURCES Breach Of Killicranky: Highland/ Reel (Am) Bayard DTF 1982 #231 p214 "Kate lay sleeping" - FELDMAN p88 2nd tune on page & p247 "The Lass of K" (Highland) - KENNEDY FTB 1951 1 p18/ 1994 #73 p20 alt: "Barrack Hill" - KERR MM 2 #23 p49 - Tunebook Ms #122 p310 & #134 p404 "Charming Molly" - O'NEILL (not in MOI) DMI #410 as Single Jig - MOYLAN 2 #320 p183 12/8 Slide from John O Leary (melodeon) "Barrack Hill" - ROCHE 2 #250 p23 6/8 "Barrack Hill" - see also THE HAUGHS OF CROMDALE - TRALEE GAOL -- Paddy BREEN (vert flute) of Co Clare rec by PK, London 1950: FOLKTRAX 078 - Johnny DOHERTY (fid) Untitled March: TOPIC 12-TS-398 1984

CHARMING MOLLY - "fair brisk and gay" "like nightingales in May - C M with the sparkling eye" - a dialogue between C M & C Johnny - ROUD#1213 & #1702 - DEAN-SMITH title: "Constant Johnny" - BARING GOULD 1889 SOW #80 "C Johnny" re-arranged by Fleetwood Sheppard - SBG-HITCHCOCK FSWC 1974 pp30-31 Roger Luxton, Halwell, Devon 1889 "C Johnny" - COPPER SESB 1971 p242 Family, Rottingdean, Sussex -- Jim COPPER, rec Rottingdean, Sussex 1951: RPL 16063 - Bob COPPER rec by PK: FOLKTRAX 239/ LEADER LEA-4046 (boxed) 1971 - Bob (solo unacc) Another version in 4x30 min progs Radio 2 Oct 1990/ CASS-60-1013-4

CHARMING MOLLY - Highland/ Short Reel - COLE p11 - Tunebook Ms 2/4 (Am) #134 pp404-5 - Cf BREACH OF KILLICRANKY Charming Molly

NOTES: "Oro se do bheatha bhaile" Irish, A Dorian. Standard. AB. Best known as the melody for the sailor shanty- “Drunken Sailor/What Shall We Do With the Drunken Sailor,” there are more vocal than instrumental versions of this air which was often used for playparty and shanty ditties, according to Bayard (1981). One of the playparty songs collected in Pennsylvania goes:

Say, pretty Belle, has your beau come
Say, pretty Belle, has your beau come
Say, pretty Belle, has your beau come
To help us with our dancing?

Yes, he'll come if yous say so (etc.)

Go give him a kiss and bring him in (etc.)

And an Irish one:

You are my love in the hay all night 
You are my love in the hay all night 
You are my love in the hay all night 
Till six o'clock in the morning.


A version with the Drunken Sailor lyrics from 1900 was printed in the JOAFL in 1915. It noted a similar song "Come Philander," a very old song which starts: "Come Philander let's go Marching..."

Fiddler Art Stampler recorded "Goodbye Girls, I'm Going To Boston" which is perhaps the best known melody of "What Shall We Do With the Drunken Sailor." This English country dance tune was published in America around 1792 as "Columbus Cotillion."

In the US it's known "Goodbye Girls, I'm Going To Boston" or "Going to Boston" and is a play-party song. It was known by Jean Ritchie when she was a little girl under the title "Boston."

Here are the lyrics to the Stamp-and-Go shanty:

What Shall We Do With A Drunken Sailor?

Chorus: Way hay and up she rises
Way hay and up she rises 
Way hay and up she rises
Earl-eye in the morning

What shall we do with a drunken sailor
What shall we do with a drunken sailor
What shall we do with a drunken sailor
Earl-eye in the morning!

Put him in a long-boat till he's sober &etc.

Keep him there and make 'im bale 'er.

Trice him up in a runnin' bowline.

Tie him to the tasffrail when she's yard-arm under.

Put him in the scuppers with a hose-pipe on him.

Take 'im and shake 'im and try an' wake 'im.

Give 'im a dose of salt and water.

Give 'im a taste of the bosun's rope-end.

Stick on 'is back a mustard plaster.

Soak 'im in oil till he sprouts a flipper.

Shave his belly with a rusty razor.

Put him in the guard room till he gets sober.