Drunken Sailor

Drunken Sailor is a famous traditional shanty, a work song of sailors, in the Dorian mode. It is also known under the title What Shall We Do with the Drunken Sailor.

History

Shanties like Drunken Sailor were among the few songs that were even allowed in the Royal Navy, which they have been preserved for many years even without transcripts. Often it was so that the sailors were only a few stanzas know why they thought up simplicity itself new. In this way arose over the years more and more verses, and it established various versions of the song.

Original

Originally the tune was taken from the traditional Irish dancing and marching song Oró Sé do Bheatha ' Bhaile. The same melody is used, for example, in the song Ten Little Injuns.

The lyrics for the first time in 1891 was published under the title "What to Do With a Drunken Sailor? ", Where the melodies were already published from 1824 to 1825 in Cole's Selection of Favourite Cotillions in Baltimore. Another version was written by Richard Runciman Terry and printed within the songbook "The Shanty Book, Part I, Sailor Shanties ".

Recordings and modifications

Meanwhile, the shanty Drunken Sailor was recorded by numerous singers and bands such as of Genghis Khan, Great Big Sea, the King's Singers, Xavier Rudd, Rapalje, Quadriga Consort, James Last, The Swingle Singers, Pete Seeger, and Authority Zero. It also found a place in the collection of shanties Rogue 's Gallery: Pirate Ballads, Sea Songs, and Chanteys, which was published in 2006.

The Kingston Trio recorded the song early in the Morning on who uses the same melody, but an altered text contains ( "When you lift your eyes and / see the sun a risin '/ on the far horizon / early in the morning. " ).

The modified version of The Drunken Whaler gave Bethesda Softworks 2012 for the computer game Dishonored in order, which is then found in the E3 trailer use, among others.

Melody

Lyrics

Chorus:

Traditional verses:

Additional verses:

Variations: