You may have heard the song “What Shall We Do With A Drunken Sailor” and, if you have, you probably know just that one verse. Just like me. I decided to find out what the rest of the words to that song are, and here is what I found. (I had NO IDEA there were so many things we could do with him!) :-)
The song first asks, “What shall we do… early in the morning?” then goes to refrain, followed by #1 (3 times, then “early in the morning”), refrain, #2 (3 times, then “early in the morning”), etc.

So, what SHALL we do with a drunken sailor (early in the morning)?

What’ll we do with a drunken sailor,
What’ll we do with a drunken sailor,
What’ll we do with a drunken sailor,
Early in the morning?

Chorus:
Way hay and up she rises
Patent blocks o’ diff’rent sizes,
Way hay and up she rises
Early in the morning

  1. Sling him in the long boat till he’s sober
  2. Keep him there and make ‘im bail ‘er.
  3. Pull out the plug and wet him all over.
  4. Take ‘im and shake ‘im, try an’ wake ‘im.
  5. Trice him up in a runnin’ bowline.
  6. Give ‘im a taste of the bosun’s rope-end.
  7. Give ‘im a dose of salt and water.
  8. Stick on ‘is back a mustard plaster.
  9. Shave his belly with a rusty razor.
  10. Send him up the crow’s nest till he falls down.
  11. Tie him to the taffrail when she’s yardarm under.
  12. Put him in the scuppers with a hose-pipe on him.
  13. Soak ‘im in oil till he sprouts flippers.
  14. Put him in the guard room till he’s sober.
  15. Put him in bed with the captain’s daughter*.
  16. Take the Baby and call it Bo’sun.
  17. Turn him over and drive him windward.
  18. Put him in the scuffs until the horse bites on him.
  19. Heave him by the leg and with a rung console him.
  20. That’s what we’ll do with the drunken sailor.

* A relative of the cat-o-nine-tails

Another version that I found online only had ten verses:

What’ll we do with a drunken sailor,
What’ll we do with a drunken sailor,
What’ll we do with a drunken sailor,
Early in the morning?

Chorus:
Way hay and up she rises
Patent blocks o’ diff’rent sizes,
Way hay and up she rises
Early in the morning

  1. Put him in the long boat till he’s sober
  2. Pull out the bung and wet him all over.
  3. Put him in the scuppers with the deck pump on him.
  4. Heave him by the leg in a runnin’ bowline.
  5. Tie him to the taffrail when she’s yard-arm under.
  6. Put him in the bilge and make him drink it
  7. Shave his belly with a rusty razor.
  8. Soak ‘im in oil till he sprouts flippers.
  9. Put him in bed with the captain’s daughter.

I’ve also seen “Let ‘im kiss the gunner’s daughter,” which meant being tied to a cannon while it was fired 4 or 5 times. Ouch!!

And apparently there’s a German version that keeps the same verse but changes the refrain. Go figure!

Current music: Boil the Breakfast Early, by The Chieftains