The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #86394   Message #1606724
Posted By: Joe Offer
16-Nov-05 - 05:07 PM
Thread Name: DTStudy: Jack Was Every Inch a Sailor
Subject: ADD: Jack Is Every Inch a Sailor
There's a second song (I think I'd call it a parody, not a completely different song) on Page 84 of the Folksinger's Wordbook:

Jack Is Every Inch a Sailor

[CHORUS]
Jack is every inch a sailor;
He'll see a pretty girl and hail 'er.
He'll vow his love will never fail 'er,
Then go sailing with his heart still free.

When Jack steps down the gang-plank there's a quiver through the town
And all the girls past seventeen come gaily running down.
They know that night that one of them has happiness in store,
And each believes that if it's her, he'll never leave the shore!
[Chorus]

He's got a prize from every port to win a woman's heart;
Brocade and silk and lace and pearls and oriental art.
Somewhere he'll meet a girl whose kiss can keep him on the shore;
But while he looks for her, he'll kiss at least a thousand more!
[Chorus]

from Folksinger's Wordbook
Fred & Irwin Silber

no tune or background notes


Here's the Traditional Ballad Index entry:

Jack Is Every Inch a Sailor

DESCRIPTION: "Jack is every inch a sailor; He'd see a pretty girl and hail 'er. He'd vow his love will never fail 'er, Then go sailing with his heart still free." All the girls come running when Jack is in town, all hoping to win his heart, but he will not settle down
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1928 (recording, Frank Crumit)
KEYWORDS: sailor courting sex
FOUND IN:
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Silber-FSWB, p. 84, "Jack Is Every Inch a Sailor" (1 text)
Roud #4541
RECORDINGS:
Frank Crumit, "Jack Is Every Inch a Sailor" (Victor 21668, 1928)
Notes: This should not be confused with "Jack Was Every Inch a Sailor," which has a similar first line and a some similarities in form and tune. The other song is a tall tale about a sailor who won a battle with a whale. - RBW
Although this song concerns Jack and the ladies, it's still clean -- but we have a hint that it was once bawdy. - PJS
File: FSWB084B

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