What Do We Do with a Drunken Sailor

Song Meaning

This sea shanty kicks off with a persistent, almost frantic question: "What shall we do with the drunken sailor?" The repetition hammers home the crew's collective bewilderment and perhaps a touch of exasperation. It's a communal problem, demanding a communal solution, all before the day truly begins, as signaled by "Early in the morning." The jaunty "Way-hay, and up she rises" chorus offers a stark contrast, a rhythmic lift that seems to mock the very predicament it follows. The core tension lies in the crew's practical, yet increasingly harsh, attempts to deal with the incapacitated sailor. The initial suggestion, "Put him in the longboat until he's sober," sounds almost humane, a simple waiting game. However, this quickly escalates to the more severe "Put him in the scuppers with a hose-pipe on him," a vivid image of rough, cold, and potentially dangerous treatment. The effectiveness of these lyrics hinges on their stark simplicity and the escalating actions. The contrast between the repetitive, almost sing-songy question and the increasingly punitive answers creates a dark humor. The chorus, "Way-hay, and up she rises," acts as a refrain that doesn't resolve the problem but rather punctuates the cycle of questioning and action, perhaps hinting at the cyclical nature of such incidents at sea. Ultimately, the song captures a moment of shared, rough problem-solving aboard a ship. The lyrics don't offer a gentle resolution but instead present a series of practical, albeit brutal, measures. The repetitive structure and the stark imagery leave the listener with a sense of the harsh realities and the unvarnished camaraderie of life at sea, where immediate, if crude, solutions are often the only ones available.