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by William Allingham (1824 - 1889)

Heave at the windlass! ‑‑ Heave O,...
Language: English 
Heave at the windlass! -- Heave O, cheerly, men!
Heave all at once, with a will!

The tide quickly making,
Our cordage a-creaking,
The water has put on a frill,
Heave O!
Fare you well, sweethearts! -- Heave O, cheerly, men!

Fare you well, frolic and sport!
The good ship all ready,
Each dog-vane is steady,
The wind blowing dead out of port,
Heave O!
Once in blue water -- Heave O, cheerly, men!

Blow it from north or from south;
She'll stand to it tightly,
And curtsey politely,
And carry a bone in her mouth,
Heave O!
Short cruise or long cruise -- Heave O, cheerly, men!

Jolly Jack Tar thinks it one.
No latitude dreads he
Of White, Black, or Red Sea,
Great icebergs, or tropical sun,
Heave O!
One other turn, and Heave O, cheerly, men!

Heave, and good-bye to the shore!
Our money, how went it?
We shared it and spent it;
Next year we'll come back with some more,
Heave O!

About the headline (FAQ)

Text Authorship:

  • by William Allingham (1824 - 1889), "Windlass song", appears in Day and Night Songs, first published 1854 [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]

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

  • by Edward Elgar, Sir (1857 - 1934), "Windlass song", published 1915. [SATB chorus a cappella] [
     text not verified 
    ]
  • by Walter Cecil Macfarren (1826 - 1905), "Windlass song", published 1872. [TTBB chorus a cappella] [
     text not verified 
    ]
  • by Alec Rowley (1892 - 1958), "Windlass song", published 1923. [unison chorus and piano] [
     text not verified 
    ]
  • by Felix Harold White (1884 - 1945), "Heave at the windlass", published 1926. [partsong for men's chorus a cappella] [
     text not verified 
    ]

Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

This text was added to the website: 2009-01-19
Line count: 30
Word count: 162

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