Drunken Sailor Lyrics
About this shanty
"Drunken Sailor" — formally known as "What Shall We Do with the Drunken Sailor?" — is one of the most widely recognised sea shanties in the world, and one of the few that most people can sing from memory. Its origins lie in the early 19th century, with the first published description found in an account of an 1839 whaling voyage out of New London, Connecticut.
It is classified as a stamp-and-go (or walkaway) shanty — sung on large ships while sailors hauled on a rope by marching along the deck together. Captain W. B. Whall, a veteran English sailor of the 1860s–70s, noted it as one of only two shanties permitted in the British Royal Navy, where singing at work was generally forbidden.
The question posed in the chorus — what shall we do with the drunken sailor? — was answered by each new improvised verse, with suggestions ranging from the practical to the absurd. Many versions exist; the verses below represent the most widely sung traditional form.
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Lyrics
Stamp-and-go shanty
What shall we do with the drunken sailor? (thrice)
Early in the morning!
Hooray and up she rises, (thrice)
Early in the morning.
Put him in the long-boat until he's sober. (thrice)
Early in the morning.
Pull out the plug and wet him all over. (thrice)
Early in the morning.
Put him in the scuppers with a hose-pipe on him. (thrice)
Early in the morning.
Heave him by the leg in a running bowlin'. (thrice)
Early in the morning.
Tie him to the taffrail when she's yard-arm under. (thrice)
Early in the morning.
Put him in the bilge and make him drink it. (thrice)
Early in the morning.
Shave his belly with a rusty razor. (thrice)
Early in the morning.
That's what we'll do with the drunken sailor. (thrice)
Early in the morning!
Glossary of terms in this shanty
A long-boat was the largest boat carried aboard a sailing ship. Scuppers are drainage holes along the edge of the deck. A taffrail is the rail around the stern. Yard-arm under means the ship is heeling sharply with the yardarm nearly touching the water. A bilge is the lowest compartment of the hull where foul water collects. For more terms, see the sea shanty glossary.
Related shanties
Blow the Man Down — long-haul halyard shanty
Boney Was a Warrior — short-haul shanty
Haul Away, Joe — short-haul shanty
Wellerman — forecastle sea song