Craic Agus Ceol - Get Up Aloft

Another Sea Shanty style song from the Irish group Craic Agus Ceol. This time they tell the tale of going to sea with a cruel Captain, and after the crew reaches the breaking point, they devise a plant to drive the Captain insane. Seems the Captain is already 'real close to daft' as the song says, so they push  him over the edge by making noises down below to draw his attention. The Captain has a problem with hearing strange noises on the ship, and the obsession of finding out the cause. The plan finally works, the Captain has flipped his lid, and has to be put in the brig so he doesn't leap overboard. And as they complete the voyage, they find the Captain dead in the brig.

Evidently the song is based on an actual 19th century occurrence on a sailing vessel, but the group emphasizes that it is an original song of their own composition, as are all of  the Sea Shanty style songs. 

There were a sea cap’n, mean as a snake 

I went to sea with him once 

Most the rest of the crew were ol’ salts 

He kept callin’ ‘em stupid an’ dunce 

 

Dis Cap’n was real close to daft 

And the crew ‘had enough his abuse 

So we ‘ad a secret meeting, down below 

To come up with a plan we could use 

 

Get up aloft ya dumb bastard! 

Handle the ropes, man the winch! 

Whoever said ya was a sailor 

Were a lyin’ son of a bitch! 

 

After a while the crew figgered his soft spot 

He always was listenin’ for strange sounds 

With an ol’ sailin’ ship in them times 

Odd sounds would be goin’ ‘round 

 

He been to sea for many years 

Knew what the ship noises should be there 

So the crew decided to make noises 

Make ‘em all over, loud, and queer 

 

 Get up aloft ya dumb bastard! 

Handle the ropes, man the winch! 

Whoever said ya was a sailor 

Were a lyin’ son of a bitch! 

 

 We all did it when we was off watch 

The crew on deck played right along 

We worked all the nooks and crannies 

Tappin’, and rollin, along 

 

He always grabbed a tar on the deck, 

And ask if ‘e ‘eard the sound too 

But the swab would always say no sir 

Then into a rage the Cap’n flew 

 

Get up aloft ya dumb bastard! 

Handle the ropes, man the winch! 

Whoever said ya was a sailor 

Were a lyin’ son of a bitch! 

 

One day after a sleepless night 

He hollered, screamed , ran forward 

He were makin’ no sense with is talk 

And he almost took a leap overboard 

 

The first mate and some swabs grabbed him 

Wouldn't let him go! 

We ‘ad to put him in the brig 

An’ keep him hold up below 

 

We heard him scream through the night 

THIS SHIP BE HAUNTED!, he’d beller 

It were sad and horrible to hear 

He was now an insane feller 

 

The first mate took control of the ship 

And got us through to finish the round 

The crew got back to doin’ their work 

Then one day, the dead Cap’n they found….