What shall we do with a drunken sailor
What shall we do with a drunken sailor
What shall we do with a drunken sailor
Fine him and suspend him.
Give him a fine and then suspend him
Give him a fine and then suspend him
Give him a fine and then suspend him
Early in the morning
Community service for reoffending
Community service for reoffending
Community service for reoffending
He's on his final warning
His drinking problem made him lose his income
His drinking problem made him lose his income
His drinking problem made him lose his income
Send him straight to rehab
Rehab worked, he's clean and sober
Rehab worked, he's clean and sober
Rehab worked, he's clean and sober
He's no more a drunken sailor
Suspend his license and stick im with fines
Oh Suspend his license and stick im with fines
Oh Suspend his license and stick im with fines
EAR-LIE IN THEH MOURNIN
I never knew the words to this melody in its entirety. I only knew it as da dadada da-da drunken sailor.
What the fuck were you doing with your life when Assassin's Creed Black Flag came out? I pretty much rocked drunken sailor on repeat when sailing the seas.
I'll be honest, I had to look it up, to make sure it was right.
Not much call for singing about drunk sailors anymore.
Give him a fine and then suspend him Give him a fine and then suspend him Give him a fine and then suspend him Early in the morning
Fake and dumb. You shave his belly with a rusty razor, something we’ve known for over a century, at least.
I always wondered if it's implied that she's ugly or that the sailor will get in trouble with the captain.
The "captain's daughter" was a euphemism for the cat o' nine tails. So in other words, that line meant give the drunken sailor a lashing as punishment.
That sounds like something a prude would invent to reconcile their strict moral code with their desire to join in singing sea shanties.
Think about it inside the context of the song. Every other line is a type of punishment:
Shave his belly with a rusty razor (painfully pull chest hair out with a dull blade)
Put him in a long boat till he's sober (put him somewhere uncomfortably cramped on his own)
Give him a dose of salt and water (probably the nicest variation of the song, make him vomit)
Stick him in a scupper with a hosepipe on him (scupper= hole in the side of the ship, so stick his head in a hole and hit him with a hosepipe)
There's also loads of other variations on the song with tons of different punishments for the drunken sailor.
Why would this line suddenly be different?
Right, but none of those are metaphorical punishments. They're just literal things that seem funny. And it's a folk song, so the variations and intended meanings are as ephemeral as a game of telephone. Having one line about sleeping with the captain's daughter might have been even more amusing (and thus more catchy) because of the double meaning.
I'm not saying that it's not possible that your interpretation is correct, but I would imagine that your average deck hand singing sea shanties isn't thinking metaphorically when he's singing about getting drunk and laid. And insisting that the one line in the song isn't about fucking is feels like wishful thinking rather than a devotion to historical accuracy.
Having one line about sleeping with the captain's daughter might have been even more amusing (and thus more catchy) because of the double meaning.
Very likely, probably why the whole captain's daughter = captain's whip thing took off as sailor slang to begin with.
your average deck hand singing sea shanties isn't thinking metaphorically when he's singing about getting drunk and laid.
I never claimed it was a metaphor, it's slang. Similarly, the "gunner's daughters" were the gun barrels midships on gunships.
And insisting that the one line in the song isn't about fucking is feels like wishful thinking
I mean, no skin off my nose if you believe that, but it seems pretty clear judging from the fact that the captain's daughter is a well known slang term for a whip in a song about punishing a drunk that that is extremely likely the correct original intent. Of course anybody can interpret anything any way they want.
It seems more likely to me than that a captain would bring his daughter onto his ship with a bunch of untrustworthy men and career violence.
my critical thinking skills are sorely lacking because this makes a lot of sense and I've never thought of this point before
Don't worry about it, maybe if you train up your critical thinking skills you'll be able to find the fault in my point.
He was found in bed with the Captain's daughter.
He was found in bed with the Captain's daughter,
Early in the morning!
Isn’t it: put him in the hold with the captains daughter? And there I thought captains daughter was slang for a cat o’ nine tails, which was a type of whip. Though if they put him in the hold with the captains actual daughter, that might be a good way to get a guy killed.
