Whisky Is the Life of Man
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A halyard shanty, well-attested from both British and American sources,[1] dating at least as far back as the 1860s.[2] In the liner notes for his 1957 album released with Ewan MacColl, Blow Boys Blow, folk singer and song collector A.L. Lloyd commented that it "was most often sung when the men were working aft near the skipper's quarters, in the enduring hope that his heart might melt, and he would order a tot for all hands."[3] The shanty enjoyed great popularity in its original context and has remained well-known in the modern folk tradition, with nearly as many lyrical variants as there are singers.[4]
The Longest Johns' version was released as track 2 on Voyage.
Lyrics
As performed on the album.
Oh whisky is the life of man,
Always was since the world began.
Oh Whisky made me pawn me clothes,
Oh Whisky gave me a broken nose.
{Chorus}
Whisky-o, Johnny-o,
Rise her up from down below,
Whisky, whisky, whisky-o,
Up aloft this yard must go.
John rise her up from down below.
Oh whisky is the life of man,
Whisky from an old tin can,
If whisky comes too near my nose,
Well it's up she comes, and down she goes.
{Chorus}
I thought I heard the old man say,
Well I treats my crew in a decent way,
Well I treat my crew in a decent way,
Well I give them whisky twice a day.
{Chorus}
Well whisky makes my friends my foes,
And It makes us roar and makes it us roll.
Well a glass of whisky all around,
And a bottle for the shanty man.
{Chorus x2}