Bully in the Alley

Written evidence of this song dates back to at least 1870, as recorded in the Hartford Courant. Further evidence of the song was also collected from the year 1914 by Cecil Sharp. Stan Hugill credits it as a halyard shanty originating in the West Indies, but others place its origin as a cotton-screwing shanty from black dockworkers in the American South. A connection has also been suggested with an 18th-century British song titled Sally in Our Alley, though as an editor on the Traditional Ballad Index points out in reference to yet another "Sally" song, "Sally has been in an alley with someone at least since Henry Carey (d. 1743) wrote "Sally in Our Alley," published in 1729...and at least as recently as Steeleye Span's 'Senior Service'....The only thing these songs share is the alliteration[sic]."

Factoids

Common wisdom among shanty singers holds that bully was slang for "drunk", though this claim is difficult to verify with any certainty, as most discussions of that definition seem to point circularly back to this song. Tom Lewis (crediting Stan Hugill) said that the expression originally referred to a ship's rigging: if the ropes are not kept tight, the mast may lean to one side, hampering the helmsman's ability to steer accurately; a ship in this condition was said to be "bully in the alley". Likewise, an inebriated sailor might have trouble remaining upright and need help navigating where he needs to go. As to where the phrase may have come from in the first place, Lewis said even Hugill didn't know.

Spliced here is slang for "married".

Several cities have or had a Shinbone Alley, including New York City and St George, Bermuda, both of which are often cited as "the" place referred to in the song. However, "Shinbone Alley" also crops up in American minstrel songs and plantation work songs at least as far back as the 1830s, and may simply have been a stock phrase not referring to any real location in particular, the same way the name "Sally Brown" appears in several shanties but doesn't refer to any specific person.

It's unclear what out under three might mean in this context; some other versions of this verse have the line as "out on the quay" (pronounced "key"), so it may simply be a variation based on a mishearing.

Lyrics

As performed on Pieces of Eight.

Oh, Sally is the girl that I love dearly
(Wey hey, bully in the alley)
Sally is the girl that I spliced nearly
(Bully down in Shinbone Al) [continues throughout verses]

{Chorus}
So!
Help me Bob, I'm bully in the alley
Wey hey, bully in the alley
Help me Bob, I'm bully in the alley
Bully down in Shinbone Al

For seven long years, I courted Sally
But all she did was dilly and dally

{Chorus}

I bought her rum, I bought her gin, oh
Bought her wine both white and red, oh

{Chorus}

If ever I get back I'll marry Sally
Have six kids and live in Shinbone Alley

{Chorus}
So!
Help me Bob, I'm bully in the alley
Wey hey, bully in the alley
Help me Bob, I'm bully in the alley
Bully down in Shinbone
Bully down in Shinbone
Bully down in Shinbone Al

Recordings

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YouTube Videos

• DIY Instrument challenge
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Full Band Streams

• In Space No One Can Hear You Stream (19 Oct 2022)
• The King's Stream (11 Sep 2024)
• Microsoft Flight Streamulator (10 Sep 2025)

Gaming Streams

• Sea of Sings! Let's get boaty! - 20/07/2020
• Musical larceny on the big blue wet thing - 14/09/2020
• DROPS! Sea of Sings! with BehavingBeardly! SHANT! - 30/10/2020
• Let's do pirate stuff - 12/12/2020
• Sea of Sings! Seasons or something! - 29/01/2021