JohnB-

That could work as well.

But I'm going back to my original setting with some added chords for the story break. The whole thing looks like this now, with some more minor wording changes (copy and paste into WORD/TIMES/12 to line up chords):

By Cicely Fox Smith From RHYMES OF THE RED ENSIGN, edited by Cicely Fox Smith, published by Hodder and Stoughton, London, © 1919, pp. 71-72.
Adapted for singing by Charlie Ipcar, 12/26/08
Tune inspired by "Christmas Day in the Morning"
Key:F (5/C)

Christmas Night-2


C-------------G-C-F---C----------F
We shipped a sea on Christmas night,
----C-----------------------G-----------G7
On Christmas night, on Christmas night!
-------C----G-C-----F---C--------------F
From stem to stern the decks flowed white –
----C---------------------------G-----C
On Christmas night till the morn-ing!
-------F-----------------------C
"One more like that," our mate did say,
F-----C-----------------------G--------G7
"And she'll not last till the break of day,"
----C----G---C-----------------F
So deep she rolled, so ill she lay –
C----------------------------G-----C
All the night long till the morn-ing!


So black the night, the gale it screamed,
On Christmas night, on Christmas night!
Like gushing wounds her swing-ports streamed;
On Christmas night till the morning!
All ice the yard was where we clung,
The frozen shrouds shrill carols sung,
Like harps the twanging backstays rung –
All the night long till the morning!

We called "All hands!" We hove her to,
On Christmas night, on Christmas night!
And nothing then was left to do
On Christmas night till the morning!
But hang on all, and wait, and pray
For nothing else to carry away,
So she might last till the break of day –
All the night long till the morning!

C------------------------------F
And one big roaring sailor-man
--C------------------G-------G7
A sort of rambling yarn be-gan,
--C-------------------------------F
A-bout a place nigh Wexford town,
-----------C-------------G
With the river Slaney flowing down
---------F--------------------------------C
By the farm where he was born an' rared;
-----------G-------------------F---------C
"An' my old mother, well, she's not heard
---F-----------------C
A word o' me this many a year . . .
-----G-------G7--------F--------C
But I've got stuff and I've got gear
----------F-----------------C
Stowed in my sea-chest all for her –
G---------------------F---------C
I can just see them old eyes stare:
--F----------------C
A lump o' coral like a tree
F------C-------------------G-----G7
Them Blacks dive after in Fee-jee,
---C-------------------------------F
A Spanish shawl and a carved fan,
---C-------------------G-----G7
A little tea-set from far Ja-pan,
--------F----------------------C
That's blue and white, and wee and small,
---G----------G7--------F
If this black gale don't break 'em all!"

The long night passed and the great gale,
On Christmas night, on Christmas night!
Went down at dawn, so we made sail,
On Christmas Day in the morning!
We sent the yards to the masthead,
The watch sung out to wake the dead!
"Them tea-things is all right," Dan said –
On Christmas Day in the morning!

"Swing-ports" by the way are doors which open (one way) below the rail to let the water out that has swept unto the deck from a big wave.

Cheerily,
Charley Noble