Can’t wait,” replied the seaman, licking his lips and happily skipping ahead of the group merrily singing to himself.
Heave away, haul away, the ship rolls along
Give a sailor his grog and there’s nothing goes wrong
The Sailor’s Alphabet is a traditional capstan and pumping shanty, sung to relieve the drudgery of these repetitive tasks. There are numerous versions of the song, but most versions follow a standard format, namely that each line of the four-line stanza begins with a letter of the alphabet, in alphabetical order, starting with the letter A and ending with the letter Z. Individual words can vary from section to section. Resembling a children’s nursery rhyme, the song acts as a memory device for the names of the parts of the ship along with a cheerful chorus that serves to lift the sailors’ spirits. Similar Alphabet songs exist among many communities, such as those of soldiers, bargemen, lumberjacks, and sheepherders.…