The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #137833   Message #3153812
Posted By: GUEST,henryp
14-May-11 - 02:35 AM
Thread Name: Two Shanties in 'Treasure Island' (1934)
Subject: RE: Two Shanties in 'Treasure Island' (1934)
Good-Bye, Fare You Well
Lyrics from Iron Men & Wooden Ships by Frank Shay

Our anchor's aweigh and our sails they are set,
Good-bye, fare you well; good-bye, fare you well!
And the gels we are leaving we leave with regret.
Hurray, my boys, we're homeward bound!

Roll Her Down the Bay sung by Bert Lloyd

Blackbird sang unto the crow
Roll her down the bay to Juliana
Wish I had that girl in tow
Roll her down the bay to Juliana

Another version has;

The blackbird said unto the crow:
I think it's time we roll and go

It seems to be related to The Bird Song which appears in Songs from the Hills of Vermont (1919). According to Southern Mountain Folksongs, this song is probably derived from the Child Ballad The Three Ravens. (From folklyrics.net)

In Treasure Island, Stevenson wrote;

Fifteen men on the dead man's chest
Yo-ho-ho, and a bottle of rum!
Drink and the devil had done for the rest
Yo-ho-ho, and a bottle of rum!

According to Wikipedia, Dead Man's Chest is one of the British Virgin Islands. Stevenson said, "Treasure Island came out of Kingsley's At Last: A Christmas in the West Indies (1871); where I got the 'Dead Man's Chest' - that was the seed."