Good Ship Venus
| "'Good Ship Venus'" ("also known as Friggin' in the Riggin'") Roud 4836 |
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| Language | English |
|---|---|
| Recorded by | Oscar Brand, Sex Pistols, Rolf Harris, Louden Wainright III, Anthrax |
| "Friggin' in the Riggin'" | |
|---|---|
| Song by Sex Pistols from the album The Great Rock 'n' Roll Swindle | |
| Released | February 26, 1979 |
| Recorded | 1979 |
| Genre | Punk rock, traditional pop |
| Length | 3:37 |
| Label | Virgin Records |
| Writer | Traditional; arranged by Jones |
| Producer | Dave Goodman |
"Good Ship Venus", also known as "Friggin' in the Riggin'", is a bawdy drinking song devised to shock with ever increasingly lewd and debauched sexual descriptions of the eponymous ship's loose moralled crew. The tune usually used (especially for the chorus) is "In and Out the Windows".
Contents |
[edit] Lyrics
The lyrics exist in numerous variations. The opening verse is typically something along the lines of:
- 'Twas on the good ship Venus,
- By Christ you should have seen us,
- The figurehead
- Was a whore in bed,
- And the mast a rampant penis.[1]
The last line of which varies, such as Our crest a rampant penis[2] or Sucking a dead man's penis.[3]
The usual rhyming structure for this song is the limerick AABBA structure.
[edit] Recordings
Oscar Brand recorded an early version in 1952, but the best known version was recorded by British punk band The Sex Pistols which appears on their Great Rock 'n' Roll Swindle album, and was the finale track to the film of the same name. Released as part of a double-A side, it reached No.3 in the UK singles chart in 1979 and was the band's biggest selling single. Serbian punk rock musician Toni Montano recorded a version of the song, with lyrics in Serbian language entitled "Frigidna je bila", relying on the Sex Pistols version.
The American thrash metal band Anthrax covered the Sex Pistols' version, but with different lyrics. In 2006 Loudon Wainwright III recorded it on Rogue's Gallery: Pirate Ballads, Sea Songs, and Chanteys. The American punk band Showcase Showdown also released a version of the song on a tribute to the Sex Pistols.
When a ship was required in The Goon Show it was often named the "Good Ship Venus" or "HMS Venus", one of several references to dirty jokes the Goons managed to get past the 1950s BBC censors.
[edit] Origin
It is possible that this song was inspired by an actual event, where a female convict (Charlotte Badger), sailing on the colonial brigantine Venus, convinced members of the crew to commandeer the vessel, sailing from Port Dalrymple in Van Diemens Land (now Tasmania) in 1806.[4]
Despite various reports, the ultimate fate of the Venus is unknown. This may have led to speculation by those left behind, with fantasies leading to the creation of this drinking song. Interestingly, one of the verses also refers to a 'Charlotte':
- The captain's daughter Charlotte
- Was born and bred a harlot
- Her thighs at night
- Were lily white
- By morning they were scarlet.[5]
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ Cray, Ed. The Erotic Muse: American Bawdy Songs (University of Illinois, 1992). pg 316.
- ^ 'Sebastian Hogbotle and Simon ffeckes' Snatches and Lays (Melbourne: Sun Books: 1973). pg. 87.
- ^ Loudon Wainwright III "Good Ship Venus" on Rogue's Gallery: Pirate Ballads, Sea Songs and Chanteys 2006
- ^ "venus". Homepages.ihug.co.nz. http://homepages.ihug.co.nz/~tonyf/venus/venus1.html. Retrieved 2010-02-12.
- ^ Frohe Ostern =o) wortteufel 12. April 2009 at 10:06 am (2009-01-18). "Rogue’s Gallery: The Art of the Siren, #25 « Moby-Dick". Ismaels.wordpress.com. http://ismaels.wordpress.com/2009/04/12/rogue%e2%80%99s-gallery-the-art-of-the-siren-25. Retrieved 2010-02-12.
[edit] Further reading
- Cray, Ed. The Erotic Muse: American Bawdy Songs (University of Illinois, 1992).
- Legman, Gershon. The Horn Book. (New York: University Press, 1964).
- Roud Folk Song Index 4836
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