What Shall We Do With a Drunken Sailor is a popular sea shanty from England. The song details the many different ways the crew will punish
a sailor who got drunk and shirked his duties.
One can imagine the scene: A sailor does not appear on deck for his seafaring duties and is discovered intoxicated in his bunk. The man who discovers the drunken sailor alerts his other crew members, and they discuss how they will punish their irresponsible shipmate.
And what will they do? They will put him in the “longboat” (a long open boat carried on ships) until he becomes sober; they will pull out the “bung” (cork) of a water barrel and empty its contents on him; they will put him in the scuppers (series of pipes fitted through a ship's side to drain water overboard) with a hosepipe on him (another harsh release of water onto the drunk); they will tie a knot (or “running bowline”) to his leg and drag him out of bed. Surely after all that punishment, the drunken sailor will think twice about getting drunk again.
The song hearkens back to the days when public punishment for an individual’s wrongdoing was not unusual, whether it be for drunkenness, laziness or anything else. The punishment helped the individual correct his faults, and acted as a warning for others who might have the same tendency toward wrongdoing.
A stylized arrangement of What Shall We Do With a Drunken Sailor is here interpreted by the Men of the Robert Shaw Chorale.
Listen to What Shall We Do With A Drunken Sailor?
Lyrics:
1. What shall we do with a drunken sailor,
What shall we do with a drunken sailor,
What shall we do with a drunken sailor,
Early in the morning?
Refrain:
Weigh heigh and up she rises (reference to the ship)
Weigh heigh and up she rises
Weigh heigh and up she rises
Early in the morning
2. Put him in the long boat until he's sober.
Put him in the long boat until he's sober.
Put him in the long boat until he's sober.
Early in the morning.
Refrain
3. Pull out the bung and wet him all over.
Pull out the bung and wet him all over.
Pull out the bung and wet him all over.
Early in the morning.
Refrain
4. Put him in the scuppers with a hosepipe on him.
Put him in the scuppers with a hosepipe on him.
Put him in the scuppers with a hosepipe on him.
Early in the morning.
Refrain
5. Heave him by the leggin’ with a runnin' bowline.
Heave him by the leggin’ with a runnin' bowline.
Heave him by the leggin’ with a runnin' bowline.
Early in the morning.
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