HEAVE AWAY CHEERILY, O!
capstan, pumps and windlass shanty

Oh, the wind is free an' we're bound for sea
Ch: Heave away cheerily o-ho!
The lassies are wavin' to you an' to me
Ch: As off to the south'ard we go, as off to the south'ard we go

Full Chorus:
Sing, me lads, cheerily
Heave, me lads, cheerily
Heave away cheerily o-ho!
For the gold that we prize an' for sunnier skies
Away to the south'ard we go!

They're cryin', Come back, my dear John an' dear Jack
There's water in front an' no door at the back

But we're Johnnies bold who can work for our gold
An' stand a good dousin' wi'out catchin' cold

The gals to the south'ard are bully an' fine
When we gits to Melbourne we'll have a good time

A John he is true to his Sal an' his Sue
So long as he's able to keep 'em in view

We'll heave her up, bullies, an' run her away
We'll soon be a'headin' out on a long lay

This shanty is from Stan Hugill's book Shanties from the Seven Seas. It is shown in Ab, a key with four flats that gives the song an interesting texture while fitting quite nicely within my vocal range. I changed the first three lines of the full chorus into call and response lines. This is not the traditional way to sing the full chorus but I really like the way it sounds. As I look at the book now I see that I have omitted this second verse for some reason:

They're shoutin' goodbye, an' the gals they do cry
So sing up, me darlin's, an' wipe yer tears dry

Here are notes about this shanty from Stan Hugill's book:

Our next 'heave' shanty is Heave Away Cheerily, O!. Only two collections give it. Davis & Tozer give it as capstan, Harlow as both pumps and windlass. Davis & Tozer state that the words and music or their version are 'entirely original'. If by this the editors mean that they composed it then seamen, obviously, must have taken it from their book in 1887 (first edition) and made use of it at sea - a magnificent gesture! For Harlow mentions it having been sung many times aboard his ship. He declares that there were many unprintable verses. I learnt my version from a Geordie shipmate in the twenties.

This [Hugill's verses] is much the same as that of Davis & Tozer. Harlow gives verses 1 and 2 in similar vein, then:

[verse 3]
They're crying, 'Come back, my dear sailor in blue
For no one can fill the place vacant by you

[verse 4]
They love us for money, whoever he be
But when it's all gone we are shanghaied to sea

[verse 5]
Then sing, 'Goodbye Sally, your wonders I'll tell
But when with another, I'll wish you in hell

'Geordie', my friend, always sang the word 'cheerily' as 'cheerilye' in accordance with typical sailor usage when singing any word ending with '-ly'.

The word 'cheerily' mean 'quickly' and was often used at capstan and halyards when exhorting the men to harder efforts … 'Heave away cheerily, me hearties!' … 'Cheerily, lads, hand over hand!' It was used in both the Navy and Merchant Marine and Shakespeare uses it in Act I, Scene I, of his play The Tempest, where the bosun calls out: 'Heigh, my hearts, cheerly, cheerly, my hearts; yare, yare! Take in the topsail…'

'Cheerily' had an opposite number, 'handsomely'. This meant heave or haul slow and steady but appears to have been used more in the Navy than in the Merchant Service.


Richard (Radriano)