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by John Masefield (1878 - 1967)
Translation

Hell's pavement
Language: English  after the English 
"When I'm discharged at Liverpool an' draws my bit o' pay,
I won't come to sea any more;
I'll court a pretty little lass and have a weddin' day,
And settle somewhere down shore;
I'll never fare to sea again a-temptin' Davy Jones,
A-heark’nin’ to the cruel sharks a-hung’rin' for my bones;
I'll run a blushin' dairy-farm or go a-crackin' stones,
Or buy an' keep a little liquor-store."
                                        So he said.

They towed her into Liverpool, we made the hooker fast,
And the copper-bound officials paid the crew,
And Billy drew his money, but the money didn't last,
For he painted the alongshore blue,
It was rum for Poll, and rum for Nan, and gin for Jolly Jack;
He shipped a fortnight later in the clothes upon his back;
He had to pinch a little straw, he had to beg a sack
To sleep on, when his watch was through,
                                        So he did.

The text shown is a variant of another text. [ View differences ]
It is based on

  • a text in English by John Masefield (1878 - 1967), "Hell's pavement", appears in Salt Water Ballads, first published 1902
    • Go to the text page.

Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):

  • by Paul Walford Corder (1879 - 1942), "Hell's pavement" [voice and piano], from Four Sea Songs, no. 1 [ sung text checked 1 time]

Researcher for this page: Mike Pearson

This text was added to the website: 2016-07-09
Line count: 18
Word count: 153

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