| Roll the Old
Chariot/Drunken Sailor Halyard, Stamp-and-go, Walk-away or Runaway Shanty Traditional |
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| Oh, a nice plum
duff wouldn’t do me any harm A nice plum duff wouldn’t do me any harm A nice plum duff wouldn’t do me any harm And we’ll all hang on behind Chorus: We’ll roll the old chariot along We’ll roll the old chariot along We’ll roll the old chariot along And we’ll all hang on behind Oh, a drop of Nelson’s blood wouldn’t do me any harm Oh, a little mug of beer wouldn’t do me any harm Oh, a pretty little lass wouldn't do me any harm Oh, a night upon the shore wouldn't do me any harm Oh, what do you do with a drunken sailor? Shave his belly with a rusty razor Put him in the long boat 'till he's sober Make him sleep with the captain's daughter That's what you do with a drunken sailor! |
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Years ago I thought Rob Middleton opened this song with "A nice plump duck wouldn't do me any harm," but I finally read the lyrics in Stan Hugill's "Shanties of the Seven Seas" and discovered it was "plum duff."
Renaissance Faire audiences miss the whole Nelson story: when Lord Nelson fell at the Battle of Trafalgar his body was sealed in a cask of rum to preserve him for burial at home. When the crew's own supply of rum was depleted, they took to sneaking from Nelson's barrel a bit here and there until back on shore. The apocryphal tale never did say if Nelson came back pickled or not! Described by Hugill as a "Stamp-and-go, walk away or runaway shanty." |
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