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| Delicious Chicken on a Raft |
Skipper in the wardroom drinkin' gin,
Hey yo, chicken on a raft!
I don't mind knockin', but I ain't goin' in!
Hey yo, chicken on a raft!
The jimmy's laughin' like it'd rain,
Hey yo, chicken on a raft!
He's lookin' at me comic cuts again!
Hey yo, chicken on a raft!
Chorus
Chicken on a raft on a Monday morning,
Oh, what a terrible sight to see,
Dabtoes forward and the dustmen aft,
Sittin' there a'pickin' at a chicken on a raft!
Hi, ho, chicken on a raft!
Hey, ho, chicken on a raft!
Hi, ho, chicken on a raft!
Hey, ho, chicken on a raft!
Gave me the middle and the forenoon too,
Now I'm pullin' on a whalin' crew.
Seagulls wheelin' overhead,
I oughter be home in me featherbed!
I had a little girl in Donny-B,
And did she make a fool of me.
Her heart was like a pusser's shower,
Run hot to cold in a quarter of an hour!
We kissed goodbye on a midnight bus,
She didn't cry and she didn't fuss,
Am I that one she loves the best,
Or just a cuckoo in another man's nest?
An amazon girl lived in Dumfries,
Only had her kids in two's and three's,
She's got a sister in Maryhill,
Says she won't but I think she will!
Author M. Kei, Pirates of the Narrow Seas series, offers this glossary of terms in the song:
Dabtoes are ordinary seamen, from getting their feet wet while swabbing the deck. Dustmen are taking out the trash, ie, heaving it overboard (20th century dustmen were stokers in the engine room. They got the dirty jobs.) These are standard morning chores. The jimmy is jimmy-number-one, ie, the first lieutenant/executive officer. The middle and forenoon are two watches, the middle 0000-0400 and the forenoon 0800-1200, so our narrator is standing watch-and-watch and is no doubt very tired. Comic cuts are orders--our poor narrator is about to be run ragged again. Pusser is the purser, ie, the ship's accountant, famous for cheating the men. Donny-B is Donnibristle, a place name.
Thanks, M. Kei!
Copyright Dick James Music, Ltd.
Recorded by Tawneyand by the Young Tradition
BR
