The
Radio London 'Sound of Music' Shanty 05 proved so populaaaaaar
with singin' scurvy-sufferers, that we just 'ad ter quill
anothaaaaaar
fer 2006.
P.A.R.R.O.T proudly presents...
The
Lonely Boathand
To the tune of 'The Lonely Goatherd'.
(Should you find yodellin' a bit of a challenge, just consume a large quantity of grog
an' then get a mate with a handy hook-hand to poke yer with it on the poop-deck.
Ye'll soon be yodellin' from the yardarm.)
High on a mast stood a lonely boathand
Yodel hodle hodle holdle yo-ho-ho
Sang as he scanned the horizon to note land
Yodel hodle hodle holdle ho
Spied on the poopdeck, a tall, bony bloke stand
Yodel hodle hodle holdle yo-ho-ho
Left eye of glass and a hook for his rope hand
Yodel hodle hodle holdle ho
Down from the mast swung the lonely boathand
Yodel hodle hodle holdle yo-ho-ho
Thinking to dote on the bloke with the hook-hand
Yodel hodle hodle holdle ho
Bellowed 'Avast! Can ye sing us a note, man?"
Yodel hodle hodle holdle yo-ho-ho
"Aye!" said the bloke, who was called Tony Stoatgland
Yodel hodle hodle holdle ho
So, while the crow's nest was left wholly unmanned
Yodel hodle hodle holdle yo-ho-ho
Ship struck a reef near a lost and remote land
Yodel hodle hodle holdle ho
Tossed in the briny the lonely boathand
Yodel hodle hodle holdle yo-ho-ho
Clung to a raft with the hook-handed Stoatgland
Yodel hodle hodle holdle ho
Light of the moon saw the makeshift boat land
Yodel hodle hodle holdle yo-ho-ho
Under their toes there was only soft sand
Yodel hodle hodle holdle ho
"Arrrrrr!" said the boathand to Tony Stoatgland
Yodel hodle hodle holdle yo-ho-ho
"Looks like we found us a comely homeland."
Yodel hodle hodle holdle ho
So then these brave buccaneers of note planned
Yodel hodle hodle holdle yo-ho-ho
Life in the sun, being tanned and palm-fanned
Yodel hodle hodle holdle ho
So it transpired that the boathand and Stoatgland
Yodel hodle hodle holdle yo-ho-ho
Found the ship's grog that washed up on the island.
Yodel hodle hodle holdle ho
Ran their beach bar called the Barrels Afloat stand
Yodel hodle hodle holdle yo-ho-ho
Started a group called the Horny Goat Band
Yodel hodle hodle holdle ho
Improvise piratical yodelling here and finish with a big Plymouth....
HO!*
* and for a change, we ain't talkin' about Buxom Betty from Budeligh Salterton,
whose name does tend ter come up regulaaaaar as clockwork after most mentions of a big HO.
Lyrics copyright Mary Payne 2006,
wi' apologies ta Rodgers and Hammerstein, and Julie Andrews
2005
shanty here. Caroline pirate
Steve Young has also penned a shanty, which is here.
The lyrics to Chicken on a Raft and many other shanties are
available from a site called Arrr.net
