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Leave Her Johnny

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Often given the full title of "Leave Her Johnny, Leave Her", this is a traditional shanty turned ubiquitous folk song. Starting as a windlass or capstan shanty, the earliest known evidence of this song is found in W.B. Whall's autobiography School and Sea Days (1901), which places it in the 1860s.[1] It shares verses and sometimes a tune with another song called "Across the Western Ocean".[2]

The song remains widely known, with covers from several popular folk artists, and was featured in the video game Assassin's Creed: Black Flag. A perennial favorite on the band's livestreams, it was also featured in their first community project video, released on 30 Dec 2020 and featuring almost 500 participants.

A long-awaited official release came on the sixth Pieces of Eight EP, Salt, released on 1 August 2025.

Factoids

Folklore holds that this was a shanty saved for the last duty of a voyage, after which all hands would disembark.[3] In his book Chanteying Aboard American Ships, Frederick Pease Harlow, who was a sailor in the 1870s, describes a scene thus:

After the ship was made fast fore and aft, the last order from the mate was, "Man the pumps, lads."....When the pump brakes were shipped into the brake beams of the pumps for the last time, they were still in condition to sing, whether the voyage had been a tough one or not. The chanteyman would jump on top of the brake beams holding on to the chain topsail sheets with his hands, and if able to stand would tread down on the brakes with his feet as the pumps were being worked by the balance of the crew and start, Leave Her Johnny, Leave Her.[4]

Tarpaulin is a type of heavy duty waterproof fabric, originally made from tarred canvas. Tarpaulin hats (or just "tarpaulins") were so strongly associated with sailors that the word "tarpaulin" also became slang to refer to the sailors themselves.[5]

Pocket rat appears to have originally been "packet rat", which was slang for a sailor who worked on packet ships crossing the Atlantic.[6]

Lyrics

As performed on the Pieces of Eight release.

Oh, the times were hard and the wages low
(Leave her, Johnny, leave her)
I guess it's time for us to go
(And it's time for us to leave her) [continues throughout verses]

Beware these packet ships, I say
They'll steal your stores and your clothes away

{Chorus}
Leave her, Johnny, leave her
Oh, leave her, Johnny, leave her
For the voyage is done and the winds don't blow
And it's time for us to leave her

There's Liverpool Pat in his tarpaulin hat
And Yankee John the pocket rat

She would not wear and she would not stay
She shipped great seas both night and day

{Chorus}

It's rotten beef and weevily bread
It was pump or drown the old man said

The sails all furled, our work is done
and now ashore we'll take our run

{Chorus 2x}

Recordings

Stream/Purchase

YouTube videos

Gig Videos

Full Band Streams

Chill Streams

Gaming Streams

  1. ↑ https://www.vwml.org/record/RoudFS/S384255
  2. ↑ https://www.fresnostate.edu/folklore/ballads/San412.html
  3. ↑ https://www.fresnostate.edu/folklore/ballads/Doe089.html
  4. ↑ https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015040462080&seq=21
  5. ↑ https://www.lexico.com/en/definition/tarpaulin
  6. ↑ https://digitalcommons.denison.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1098&context=studentscholarship
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