Singalong
Welcome to the singalong page! Sea shanties usually have a call-and-response verse structure, alternating lines sung by just the shantyman with refrains sung by everyone, but others have a more recognizable verse and chorus structure. Some of our songs have both refrains and choruses, others just one or the other, and some have neither! This is where you can find all of the singalong parts for each song, sorted alphabetically by title. Happy shantying!
The Bonnie Wee Lassie’s Answer
Come Out Ye Black and Tans
Donald Where’s Your Troosers?
Down Among the Dead Men
Drunken Lullabies
Drunken Sailor
The Duke of Argyle
The Eddystone Light
Excursion Around the Bay
The Female Pressgang
Fiddlers Green
Fields of Athenry
Finnegans Wake
The Fish in the Sea
The Flying Dutchman
Foggy Dew
General Taylor
Ghost of John
Good Morning Ladies All
Health to the Company
Heave Away
High Barbary
Hog’s-Eye Man
Homeward Bound
Irene’s Pirate Love Song
An Irish Ballad
The Irish Rover
I’s the B’y
Isn’t It Grand Boys?
Johnny I Hardly Knew Ye
Jolly Roving Tar
The Kraken
Leave Her, Johnny
The Leaving of Liverpool
Lilliburlero
The Lobster Song
Lowlands Away
The Maid of Amsterdam
Maid on the Shore
Martinmas Time
The Mermaid
Mermaids of the Harbor
Mingulay Boat Song
Mist Covered Mountains
My Little Lad
My Son John
New York Girls
Northwest Passage
Old Dun Cow
Paddy Lay Back
The Parting Glass
Pirate Queen
The Pretty Drummer Boy
Pump Shanty
Randy Dandy, Oh
Rio Grande
Rising of the Moon
The Rocky Road to Dublin
Roll Boys Roll
Roll Northumbria
Roll the Old Chariot Along
Roller Bowler
Rolling Down to Old Maui
Running down to Cuba
Sailor’s Prayer
Sally Brown
Santianna
Scrimshaw for Christmas
Shenandoah
Siren Song
Skye Boat Song
South Australia
Spanish Ladies
Steal from Everyone You Can
Streams of Whiskey
Ten Thousand Miles Away
That Sea, The Gambler
The Thirty-First Day of August
Three Drunken Maidens
The Trooper and the Maid
Tumblebones
Valparaiso
The Wellerman
Where Am I to Go, M’Johnnies
Whiskey in the Jar
Whiskey Johnny
Wild Rover
William Taylor
The Worst Old Ship
Yarmouth Town
All for me Grog
All for me grog, me jolly, jolly grog
It’s all for me beer and tobacco
For I spent all me tin with the lassies drinkin’ gin
Far across the western ocean I must wander.
Atlantis
Out walking the steps of Atlantis
Watching the waves sweep the sky
And the whole earth rings like thunder
As the whales call, passing us by
I’m climbing the towers of Atlantis
Fish eddy like clouds, gleam like stars
Or so I can almost remember
It’s so long since the surface was ours
The Banks of Newfoundland
We'll scrape her and we'll scrub her
With holy stone and sand,
For there blows some cold nor'westers
On the Banks of Newfoundland.
Barrett’s Privateers
Refrain:
How I wish I was in Sherbrooke now!
Chorus:
God damn them all!
I was told we'd cruise the seas for American gold
We'd fire no guns, shed no tears
Now I'm a broken man on a Halifax pier
The last of Barrett's Privateers
Black Velvet Band
For her eyes they shone like diamonds
I thought her the queen of the land
And her hair, hung over her shoulder
Tied up with a black velvet band
Blow the Candles Out
No refrain or chorus on this one--just enjoy!
Blow the Wind Southerly
Blow the wind southerly, southerly, southerly,
Blow the wind south o'er the bonny blue sea;
Blow the wind southerly, southerly, southerly,
Blow bonnie breeze, bring my lover to me.
Blow the Man Down
O, blow the man down, bullies, blow the man down
To me way hey, blow the man down
O, blow the man down, bullies, blow the man down
Give us some time to blow the man down
Bonnie Ship the Diamond
For it's cheer up my lads
Let your hearts never fail
For the bonnie ship the Diamond
Goes a-fishing for the whale
The Bonnie Lassie's Answer
For I am forced to go, me love,
Where no one shall be know,
And the bonnie wee lassie’s answer
Was aye, no, no
Aye, no, no me love
Aye, no, no
And the bonnie wee lassie’s answer
Was aye, no, no
Boston Harbor
With a big bow wow, tow row row
Fol dee rol dee rye doh dae
Bully in the Alley
Help me Bob, I'm bully in the alley,
Way hey, Bully in the alley.
Help me Bob, I'm bully in the alley,
Bully down in Shinbone al’
Captain Kidd
Refrains for first seven verses:
…as I sailed, as I sailed
…as I sailed
…as I sailed, as I sailed
Last two verses:
…I must go, I must go
…I must go
…and must die, and must die,
…for I must die, I must die
…for I must die
…for I must die, I must die
Lest you come to hell with me for I must die
Come Out Ye Black and Tans
Oh, come out ye Black and Tans
Come out and fight me like a man
Show your wife how you won medals down in Flanders
Tell them how the IRA
Made you run like hell away
From the green and lovely lanes of Killashandra
The Crayfish
By the wayside, aye,
Diddily aye-oh!
Crooked Jack
I was tall and true, all of six foot two
But they broke me across the back
By a name I'm known, but it's not my own
They call me Crooked Jack
The Dark Lady
Chorus 1 & 2:
And every night the Baron would drink a toast
He'd say, "Here's to our lovely lady host
My one true love"
"Hear, hear!" the crew replied
And the Dark Lady sighed
Chorus 3:
That night the Baron drank with jubilee
He said, "Here's to my lovely bride-to-be
My one true love"
"Hear, hear !" the crew replied
And the Dark Lady cried
Chorus 4:
That night the Lady drank a toast
She said, "Here's to your lovely lady host
Your one true love"
No voices replied
And the Dark Lady smiled
Chorus 5:
And every night the Baron must drink a toast
And say, "Here's to our lovely lady host
My one true love"
"Hear, hear!" the ghost crew replies
And the Dark Lady smiles
Dead Horse
Refrain 1:
And we say so! And we know so!
Refrain 2:
Oh, poor old man!
Derby Ram
Chorus option 1:
And indeed sir, it’s true sir
I never was given to lie
And if you’ve been to Derby
You’d have seen it the same as I
Chorus option 2:
That’s a lie, that’s a lie
That’s a lie, lie, lie
Donald Where's Your Troosers?
Let the wind blow high
Let the wind blow low
Through the streets
In my kilt I'll go
All the lassies shout hello
Donald, where's your troosers?
Down Among the Dead Men
Down among the dead men
Down among the dead men
Down, down, down, down
Down among the dead men let him lie
Drunken Lullabies
Must it take a life for hateful eyes
To glisten once again?
'Cause we find ourselves in the same old mess
Singing drunken lullabies
Drunken Sailor
Verse:
Repeat the first line two times
Early in the morning
Chorus:
Way, hey, and up she rises
Way, hey, and up she rises
Way, hey, and up she rises
Early in the morning
Duke of Argyle
No refrain--just enjoy!
Eddystone Light
Yo ho ho, the wind blows free
Oh for the life on the rolling sea
Excursion Around the Bay
Oh me, oh my, I heard me old wife cry
Oh me, oh my, I think I'm gonna die
Oh me, oh my, I heard me old wife say
"I wish I'd never taken this excursion around the bay"
The Female Pressgang
Repeat last line of each verse:
Fourteen tailors
Pressing tailors
I’m a tailor
I’m a tailor
I’m a tailor
Seven tailors
These poor tailors
And all tailors, fourteen tailors
Fiddler's Green
Wrap me up in my oilskins and jumper
No more on the docks I'll be seen
Just tell my old shipmates, I'm taking a trip, mates
And I'll see you someday in Fiddler's Green
Fields of Athenry
Low Lie The fields of athenry
where once we watched the small free birds fly
our love was on the wing
We had dreams and songs to sing
and so lonely round the fields of athenry
Finnegan's Wake
Whack fol the da, now, dance your partner
Round the floor your trotters shake
Wasn't it the truth I told you?
Lots of fun at Finnegan's wake
Fish in the Sea
And it's windy weather boys, stormy weather, boys
When the wind blows we're all together, boys
Blow ye winds westerly, blow ye winds, blow
Jolly sou'wester, boys, steady she goes.
The Flying Dutchman
Three centuries of storm
A glowing deck and tatters in the dark
Since we burst off the blustery horn
And the devil cursed our wretched barque
So we’ll sail forevermore
And you’ll soon be sunk if you hear this cry
We’re thralls to the underlord
Godverdomme* watch the Dutchman fly
*Dutch for goddamn, pronounced hot-fair-DUMB-uh
Foggy Dew
Out in the foggy dew
General Taylor
To me way, hey, stormy
Walk him along, John, carry him along
To me way, hey, stormy
Carry him to his burying ground
Ghost of John
Oh, have you seen the ghost of John
Long white bones with the skin all gone
Oo-oo-oo-oo oo-oo-oo
Wouldn’t it be chilly with no skin on
Good Morning Ladies All
Refrain 1:
With a heave-o, haul
Refrain 2:
Good mornin' ladies all
A Health to the Company
So here's a health to the company, and one to my lass
Let us drink and be merry all out of one glass
Let us drink and be merry all grief to refrain
For we may or might never all meet here again
Heave Away
Sometimes, we're bound for Liverpool
Sometimes, we're bound for Spain
Heave away, me bullies
Heave away
But now we're bound for old St. John's
Where all the girls are dancing
Heave away, me bully boys
We're all bound away
High Barbary
Refrain 1:
Blow high! Blow low! And so sailed we
Refrain 2:
Sailing down along the coasts of High Barbary
Hog's-Eye Man
With your hog’s eye-o
Row the boat ashore with your hog’s eye
Steady on the tiller with your hog’s eye-o
You are the hog’s eye man
Homeward Bound
Refrain 1:
Goodbye, fare thee well
Goodbye, fare thee well
Refrain 2:
Hurrah, me boys, we’re homeward bound
Irene's Pirate Love Song
Oh, the winds picked up and waves grew tall
And I wondered if I would live at all
But that was the day my love sailed in
And I’ll never go back to land
An Irish Ballad
Refrain 1:
Sing rickety-tickety-tin
Refrain 2:
Repeat end of each verse’s last line, followed by complete last line
The Irish Rover
No chorus or refrain--just enjoy!
I's the B'y
Hip yer partner, Sally Tibbo
Hip yer partner, Sally Brown
Fogo, Twillingate, Moreton's Harbour
All around the circle
Isn't it Grand, Boys?
Isn't it grand, boys, to be bloody well dead?
Let's not have a sniffle
No!
Let's have a bloody good cry
And always remember, the longer you live
The sooner you'll bloody well die
Johnny I Hardly Knew Ye
Refrains 1 & 2:
Hurroo, hurroo
Refrain 3:
Johnny I hardly knew ye
Chorus:
With your drums and guns and drums and guns
The enemy nearly slew ye
Oh my darling dear, ye look so queer
Johnny I hardly knew ye
Jolly Roving Tar
So pass the flowin' bowl
Boys, there's whiskey in the jar
And we'll drink to all the lassies
And the jolly roving tar
The Kraken
In the blackest deep, the Kraken sleeps
Leave Her, Johnny
Leave her, Johnny, leave her
Oh, leave her, Johnny, leave her
For the voyage is done and the winds don’t blow
And it's time for us to leave her
The Leaving of Liverpool
So fare thee well my own true love
When I return united we will be
It's not the leaving of Liverpool that grieves me
But my darling when I think of thee
Lilliburlero
Lero-lero-lillibulero
Lero-lero-bulibula
Lero-lero-lillibulero
Lero-lero-bulibula
The Lobster Song
Lobsters eat people
And people eat lobsters
If someone in the harbor
Can’t find their mate
You may be chagrined
To learn what’s dripping down your chin
Or splattered all over your plate
Lowlands Away
Refrain 1:
Lowlands, lowlands away me John
Refrain 2:
Lowlands away
The Maid of Amsterdam
Refrain 1:
Mark well what I do say
Refrain 2:
I'll go no more a-roving
With you fair maid
Chorus:
A roving, a roving
Since roving's been my ru-i-in
I'll go no more a roving
With you fair maid
Maid on the Shore
Repeat last line of each verse (without repetitions of final word)
Mary Read
Mary I would lie for you
I’d sail the high seas with you
I promise that my love is true
And I’ll be your pirate queen
Last chorus:
Mary I would die for you
I’d sail the highest seas with you
I promise that my love is true
And I’ll be your pirate queen
Martinmas Time
To me right foddle-lydle-leedle-lydle-dommee-o
With me right fiddle-ee-ydle-deedle-dy-dee-o
The Mermaid
O the ocean's waves will roll
And the stormy winds will blow
While we poor sailors go skipping to the top
And the landlubbers lie down below, below, below
And the landlubbers lie down below
Mermaids of the Harbor
Oh, these are the mermaids of the harbor
They lie on rocks and swim the ocean blue
You may never catch a mermaid
Flopping upon the beach
But you’ve seen the many special things they do
Mingulay Boat Song
Hill you ho, boys; Let her go, boys
Bring her head round; into the weather
Hill you ho, boys; Let her go, boys
Sailing homeward to Mingulay
Mist Covered Mountains
Hey ro, soon shall I see them, oh
Ho ra, see them oh see them, oh
Ho ro, soon shall I see them
The mist covered mountains of home
My Little Lad
My little lad, keep it in mind, dear
Only a song puts trouble behind ye’
While I’ve been draggin’ around these old bones
All of these tunes, I’ve gathered and grown
From Barbados to far Macau
They’re all the treasure I carry around
And all I’ve gained from the passing of time
Are wrinkles ’round these eyes of mine
My Son John
To me too-rye-ah, foddle-diddle-da
Whack foddle-laddle-liddle-lye-dum-dae
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