Well, I've done some radical changes to this poem, in adapting it for singing. I was probably heavily influenced by the introductory fragment, "Oh wake her, oh shake her!", from the traditional shanty "Johnny Come Down to Hilo." What I've ended up with is more shanty like than the original poem (copy and paste into WORD/TIMES/12 to line up chords):


Poem by Cicely Fox Smith, Danny McLeod's Manuscript, circa 1920
Adapted by Charles Ipcar, © 2005
Tune after traditional sea shanty chorus "Johnny Come Down to Hilo"
Key: C (7/F)

ROSARIO-3 – Anchor Shanty


C------F----C----------F------C-----F----------C---------Am
Oooh, wake her! Oh, shake her! – Kiss your gal good-bye,
---C----------------F------C---------F---C-----G---C-F--C
So earl-eye in the morn-ing, with the moon still in the sky.

Chorus:

Oooh, wake her! Oh, shake her! – It's time to roll and go;
We've a long road to travel, 'fore we reach Ro-sa-ri-o!

Oooh, wake her! Oh, shake her! - Blue Peter's flying free;
The pilot's come aboard her, and she's hungry for the sea. (CHO)

Oooh, wake her! Oh, shake her! – The cable surges in,
To a roaring shanty chorus we make that capstan spin. (CHO)

Oooh, wake her! Oh, shake her! – See her gather way;
Now she' splits the rollers in a rainbow cloud of spray, (CHO)

Oooh, wake her! Oh, shake her! – It's farewell to the shore,
With the north wind in her tops'ls, and the whole wide world before! (CHO)

Oooh, wake her! Oh, shake her! – And steady as you go;
We've a long road to travel, 'fore we reach Rosario!

If you'd like to hear a MP3 sample of how I sing this, you can hear one on my personal website: Click here!

Cheerily,
Charley Noble