Interesting Facts about the A Long Time Ago (C)
A Long Time Ago (C) sometimes was sung in a lively fashion other times slow and melancholy, depending on the shantyman. Sometimes it was used at the capstan and then a full chorus was added.
The song will be reconstructed by myself as the capstan shanty.
The source of this sea shanty
The music: “Shanties from the Seven Seas” by Stan Hugill (1st ed p 97).
The lyrics: “Shanties from the Seven Seas” by Stan Hugill (1st ed p 99, 100).
The Record of the A Long Time Ago (C)
You also can find this record on my YouTube channel here or directly listen below. Additionally, if you want to share your opinion about the record or share your opinion you can do it in my Facebook forum here, or leave a comment at the bottom of this blog article.
The full lyrics
A Long Time Ago (C)
The ships they lay in ‘Frisco Bay,
– To me WAY, hay, HO,high ho!
The ships they lay in ‘Frisco Bay,
– A LONG time aGO!
– A long, long time, an’ a very long time,
– To me WAY, hay, HO,high ho!
– A long, long time, and a very long time,
– A LONG time aGO!
* 2 *
An’ one o’ these packets wuz ol’ Noah’s Ark,
All covered all over with hickory bark.
* 3 *
They filled up her seams with oakum an’ pitch,
Her sails wuz baldly in need o’ a stitch.
* 4 *
Her bow it wuz bluff an’ her counter wuz round,
Her knees wuz so thin, an’ her timbers unsound.
* 5 *
Her fo’c’sle wuz low, an’ her starn wuz too high,
The hold for the animals never wuz dry.
* 6 *
Her pumps they wuz jammed and her fores’l wuz torn,
She looked like an ol’ Spanish galley-eye-orn.
* 7 *
Now this is the gangway the animals went down,
An’ this is the hold were they walk round an’ round.
* 8 *
Ol’ Noah of old he commanded this Ark,
His cargo wuz animals out for a lark.
* 9 *
He boarded the animals, two of each kind,
Birds, snakes, an’ jiggy-bugs, he didn’t mind.
* 10 *
The animals rolled up, oh, two by two,
The elephant casin’ the kangaroo.
* 11 *
The bull an’ the cow they started a row,
The bull did his best to horn the cow.
* 12 *
Then Ol’ Noah said with a flick o’ his whip,
‘Stop this bloody row, or I’ll scuttle the ship.’
* 13 *
An’ the bull put his horns through the side o’ the ark,
An’ the little black doggie, he started to bark.
* 14 *
So Noah took the dog, put his nose in the hole,
An’ ever since then the dog’s nose has been cold.
* 15 *
The animals came in three by three,
The elephant ridin’ the back o’ the flea.
* 16 *
The animals came in four by four,
Ol’ Noah wentmad an’ he hollered for more.
* 17 *
The animals came in five by five,
Some wuz half-dead, an’ some half-alive.
* 18 *
The animals came in six by six,
The hyena laughed at the monkey’s tricks.
* 19 *
The monkey was dressed up in soger’s clo’es;
Where he got ’em from, God only knows.
* 20 *
The animals came in seven by seven,
Sez the ant to the elephant, ‘who are yer shovin’?’
* 21 *
The animals came in eight by eight,
A drunken big chimp an’ a scabby big ape.
* 22 *
The animals came in nine by nine,
The sea-lions havin’ a bloomin’ fine time.
* 23 *
The animals came in ten by ten,
The Ark with a shriek blew her whistle then.
* 24 *
An’ Noah while working at loading her stock,
Had anchored the Ark with a bloody great rock.
* 25 *
Ol’ Noah he then hove the gang-plank in,
An’ then the long voyage it sure did begin.
* 26 *
They hadn’t the foggiest where they wuz at,
Untill they piled right up on ol’ Ararat.
* 27 *
The ol’ Ark with a bump landed high an’ dry,
And the bear give the turkey a sailor’s goodbye.
* 28 *
I thought that I heard Ol’ Noah say,
Give one more pull lads, an’ then belay!