Drunken Sailor

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Drunken Sailor is a famous traditional sea shanty also known as What Shall We Do with a Drunken Sailor? and Sailor's Holiday.[citation needed]

It begins with the question, "What shall we do with a drunken sailor, early in the morning?" (Or sometimes "What do you do," etc.) Each verse thereafter suggests a method of sobering—or castigating, or simply abusing—the sailor.

Contents

[edit] History

Drunken Sailor was a work song often sung when raising a sail or raising the anchor, which is the reference for “Up She Rises” in the song’s chorus. Such songs were the only ones allowed in the Royal Navy. Most often, only two or three verses were sung but verses were often added until the task was completed.

[edit] Origins

The air was taken from a traditional Irish dance and march tune, "Oró Sé do Bheatha 'Bhaile" (Translated as "Óró, you are welcome home") originally in dorian mode. The same tune has also been used for other songs, possibly Ten Little Injuns[1]

The music was first reproduced in printed form in 1824–25 in Cole's Selection of Favourite Cotillions published in Baltimore. However, the lyrics were first published in 1891 under the title "What to do with a Drunken Sailor?". Another version appears in The Shanty Book, Part I, Sailor Shanties, by Richard Runciman Terry, categorised as a "Windlass and Capstan" shanty. He says of it: "Although mostly used for windlass or capstan, Sir Walter Runciman tells me that he frequently sang to it for 'hand-over-hand' hauling. Whall gives it on page 107 under the title 'Early in the morning.' It is one of the few shanties that were sung in quick time."

[edit] Notable examples

The song has been widely recorded under a number of titles by a range of performers including Dschinghis Khan, Gina, Dale Haze and the Champions, Great Big Sea, the King's Singers, James Last, The Swingle Singers, the Brobdingnagian Bards, the LeperKhanz, Pete Seeger, Captain Bogg and Salty, Terrorvision, and Authority Zero. It also forms part of a contrapuntal section in the BBC Radio 4 UK Theme by Fritz Spiegl, in which it is played alongside Greensleeves. It has also been recorded by David Thomas and features on the 2006 release Rogue's Gallery: Pirate Ballads, Sea Songs, and Chanteys. The French rock band "Noir Désir" sing it in many concerts. The Irish Rovers traditionally end their concerts with an audience sing-along of the song.

Australian composer Percy Grainger incorporated the song and lyrics into his song setting "Scotch Strathspey And Reel".

The main theme from the first movement of Shostakovich's Piano Concerto No. 2 in F Major, Op. 102, mimics the song.[citation needed]

American band Firewater recorded a song entitled "Snake-Eyes and Boxcars" that borrows the melody but changes the central lyric to "What shall we do with a drunken failure?"

Don Janse produced a particularly artistic arrangement in the early 1960s which has been included in several choral music anthologies. The arrangement was first recorded by The Idlers. This arrangement has been performed by several collegiate groups over the years, including the Yale Alley Cats on their Live from Europe Album.

This song has been recorded by Sam Spence under the name "Up She Rises", and is frequently used as background music for NFL Films.

This was the favorite song of sea captain Bill Malloy in the daytime soap Dark Shadows. When the character is murdered, his ghost appears and sings the song.

The Kingston Trio recorded "Early in the Morning" the chorus of which has the same tune but these lyrics: "When you lift your eyes and/see the sun a risin'/on the far horizon/early in the morning."

In the television series, The Wild Wild West, Dr. Loveless (Michael Dunn) ensnares West in a sinking coffin with lavish upholstery and a gramophone player. Its record features Loveless singing this song.

Holly Near recorded a version on her latest CD "Show Up" . The rewrite features the same tune with additional lyrics added that focus on the problem of alcohol addiction.

The Brobdingnagian Bards combined "What Shall We Do with a Drunken Sailor" with the Scottish song "Donald, Where's Your Trousers?" which added extra depth to the "Way hey and up she rises" part of the chorus.

It has been referenced in the film The Truman Show as well as the TV shows The Office and Cheers.

In the episode "Bad Water" the crew of the seaQuest DSV are hunting for a French sightseeing sub trapped in a fresh-water sinkhole in the Bermuda Triangle. A freak lightning strike fries the ship's systems. As the crew tries to get the boat operable in time to save the kids aboard the French sub, Chief Crocker leads them in several sea shanties, including this one, to bolster the crew's spirits.

The instrumental version of the song is also used on the Nickelodeon series SpongeBob SquarePants as the pseudo-theme of the Krusty Krab restaurant and its owner Eugene H. Krabs.

The song is covered by the band Authority Zero on their album 12:34 (with occasional changing of the lyrics to "What do you do with a Drunken Zero").

In his role as Mike LaFontaine in the film A Mighty Wind, Fred Willard sings a verse with the lyrics "put him in a cell with a long hose on him" and makes the comment, "If you put him in a cell with a long hose on him, he's going to be very popular in the shower room."

In his role as Long John Silver in the movie Muppet Treasure Island, Tim Curry sings a few verses of the song.

In the orgy scene in John Frankenheimer's 1966 movie Seconds, the crowd is wildly singing the song.

There is a parody of the song in the cartoon series Duckula episode called "No sax please, we're Egyptian". In reference to the Egyptian god Ra and imaginary Pharaoh, Upshi, count Duckula and two other characters sing part of the song as: "Who? Ra. Upshi rises."

A Turkish bank, Ziraat Bankası, uses an instrumental version of the song played with classical Turkish instruments in one of their recent commercials.

Montreal band The Prowlers adapted the lyrics to suit the title "Drunken Skinhead" on their album "Hair Today, Gone Tomorrow", released in 2001.

In the Adult Swim series Sealab 2021, episode "All That Jazz" Captain Murphy loses his mind while trapped under a BeBop Cola soda vending machine, and passes some time singing. He sings the lyric: "Put him in a scupper with a hose pipe in him, put him in a scupper with a hose pipe in him, put him in a scupper with a hose pipe in him, early in the morning!" at approximately 7:05 minutes into the episode.

[edit] References

  1. ^ Studwell, William E. (1997) "Americana Song Reader" p. 74

[edit] Further reading

[edit] External links

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drunken_Sailor"
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