Haul and Drag
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"Haul and Drag" is a Longest Johns original, written by Robbie Sattin and released as track 2 on the EP The Longest Pony in collaboration with El Pony Pisador.
Factoids
Brig: a sailing vessel with two square-rigged masts, common as both merchant vessels and warships from the mid-18th century through the end of the 19th century.[1]
Windward literally means the direction from which the wind is blowing; however, St. Lucia is also part of a group of islands in the lesser Antilles known as the Windward Islands, so this line may also be a nod to that name.[2]
St. Lucia is an island in the West Indies that was home to many sugar plantations in the 18th and 19th century. It passed between French and British control several times before being officially secured by the British in the 1814 Treaty of Paris, where it remained until gaining independence in 1979.[3]
Hog: short for "hogshead"; a large cask for storing or transporting liquids.[4]
Furl the top: Roll the topsail up tightly
Scattered here is used figuratively, meaning "distracted or discomposed"[5]
Skittles is a game similar to bowling, where players knock over wooden pins with a ball; a skittle alley is the wooden surface upon which the game is played.
Neptune was the ancient Roman god of the sea.
Lyrics
She's a rotten brig with creaking innards
(Haul and drag)
Rope by rope we'll heave her windward
(Haul and drag) [continues throughout verses]
{Chorus}
Haul and drag, bullies
Haul and drag
Haul 'til the devil takes ya
Haul and drag
Hogs of rum bound for St. Lucia
Two for me and one for you, sir
{Chorus}
Well the cook's a-rolling in the galley
Scattered like a skittle alley
{Chorus}
Speeding down the Strait of Dover
Furl the top, she's listing over
{Chorus}
Rudder's gone and hold is filling
Powder's wet and flour is swimming
{Chorus}
Every hand to Neptune's calling
Down in Hell, there'll be no hauling
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- ↑ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brig
- ↑ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windward_Islands
- ↑ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Lucia
- ↑ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hogshead
- ↑ "scattered, adj." OED Online, Oxford University Press, March 2023, www.oed.com/view/Entry/172154. Accessed 28 April 2023.