Top Man And The Afterguard
Traditional:
courtesy of www.SailorSongs.com
The topman and the afterguard were walking one day
Said the topman to the afterguard I mean for to pray
For the rights of all sailors and the wrongs of all men
And whatever I do pray for you must answer Amen
Says the afterguard "Amen"
First I'll pray for the bosun with his little stick
He calls out all hands then gives us a lick
Strikes many a brave fellow then kicks him a-main
May the Devil double triple damn him
Says the afterguard "Amen"
Next I'll pray for the Purser who gives us to eat
Spew burgers rank butter and musty horsemeat
With weavily biscuit while he gets the gain
May the devil double triple damn him
Says the afterguard "Amen"
Then I'll pray for them navy officers who hold back our due
We are owed three years wages and prize money too
Well it's no pay for you Jack try next voyage again
May the Devil double triple damn them
Says the afterguard "Amen"
Well the last thing that I'll pray for is a drop of good beer
For the Lord made the liquor our spirits for to cheer
And where we had one pot I wish we had ten
And never never want for grog my boys
Said the afterguard "Amen.
The author of this website has put a lot of time and effort into gathering the greatest collection of sea shanties for the world to enjoy - There are songs that have been to sung to a job of work at sea for many, many years and collecting them has been a great endeavour. - Roger Chartier has made the effort out of his own interest and the requests that he has gotten to do this work from fellow musicians who wanted a good source of sea shanties to draw on and learn from. He has been told that for this effort he is a remarkable man.
