Interesting Facts about the Boney
“Boney”, is a halyard shanty based fairly accurately on the life and times of Napoleon Bonaparte. Stan Hugill also tells us it was used in others ‘short-haul’ or fore-sheet shanty.
I will reconstruct this song as the halyard shanty.
The source of this sea shanty
The music: “Shanties from the Seven Seas” by Stan Hugill (1st ed p 442).
The lyrics: “Shanties from the Seven Seas” by Stan Hugill (1st ed p 442, 443).
The Record of the Boney
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 musical notation
And the full lyrics
Boney
Boney wuz a warrior;
– WAY – aye – YAH!
A warrior, a terrior,
– JOHN-ny FranCOIS!
* 2 *
Boney beat the Prussians,
Osstrians and the Rooshians,
* 3 *
Boney went to school inFrance,
He lent to make the Russians dance.
* 4 *
Oh, Boney marched to Moscow,
Across the Alps through ice an’ snow,
* 5 *
Boney wuz a Frenchyman,
But Boney had a turn agen.
* 6 *
So he retreated back agen,
Moscow wuz in ruins then.
* 7 *
Boney went to Elbow,
There he got his overt’row
* 8 *
He beat the Prussians squarely,
He whacked the English nearly.
* 9 *
We licked him in Trafalgar’s Bay,
Carried his main topm’st away.
* 10 *
‘Twas on the Plains of Waterloo,
He met the boy who put him through
* 11 *
Boney marched to Waterloo,
And there he met his overt’row,
* 12 *
He met the duke of Wellington,
That day his downfall had begun.
* 13 *
Boney went a-crusin’,
Aboard the Billy Ruffian.
* 14 *
Boney went to Saint Helen’,
An’ he never came back agen.
* 15 *
They sent him into exile,
He died on Saint Helena’s isle.
* 16 *
Boney broke his heart an’ died,
In Corsica he wisht he styed.
* 17 *
He wuz a rorty general,
A rorty, snorty general.
