Drunken Sailor
Here’s a beginner lesson on how to play this fun sea shanty. Arrrrr 🏴☠️
This tune is recommended for students in Module 1.7 or higher. It’s a good way to practice the D Dorian scale. I’ll also show you how to play the chord backup for the tune.
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Video loops 🔁
Note: if you want to turn the video looper on or off, click the button in the lower left corner. Also, you can adjust the speed of the video by clicking the gear icon ⚙
Verse and chorus are the same basic melody. There’s just a little rhythmic variation between the parts.
The verse starts with a hoedown pattern for “What will we do with the”.
The chorus starts with a half note, dotted quarter and then eighth note for “Way-hay and”.
Learning chunks
I’ve made some “Learning Chunks” to help you learn more easily. These focused exercises contain sheet music, tabs and mp3 snippets to guide you on your fiddle journey.
Preparation
Review and practice these lessons:
Warm up with the D Dorian scale using a D drone:
D0-1-L2-3-A0-1-L2-3
A part, first quarter
A part, second quarter
This Learning Chunk™ (tab, sheet music and mp3 snippets) is available to All-access users. Subscribe here. And thanks for your support. 🙏
A part, third quarter
This Learning Chunk™ (tab, sheet music and mp3 snippets) is available to All-access users. Subscribe here. And thanks for your support. 🙏
A part, fourth quarter
This Learning Chunk™ (tab, sheet music and mp3 snippets) is available to All-access users. Subscribe here. And thanks for your support. 🙏
B part, first quarter
This Learning Chunk™ (tab, sheet music and mp3 snippets) is available to All-access users. Subscribe here. And thanks for your support. 🙏
B part, second quarter
This Learning Chunk™ (tab, sheet music and mp3 snippets) is available to All-access users. Subscribe here. And thanks for your support. 🙏
B part, third quarter
This Learning Chunk™ (tab, sheet music and mp3 snippets) is available to All-access users. Subscribe here. And thanks for your support. 🙏
B part, fourth quarter
This Learning Chunk™ (tab, sheet music and mp3 snippets) is available to All-access users. Subscribe here. And thanks for your support. 🙏
Lyrics
Verse 1
What will we do with a drunken sailor? (3x)
Early in the morning!
—
Chorus
Way hay and up she rises (3x)
Early in the morning!
—
Other verses
Shave his belly with a rusty razor (3x)
Early in the morning!
Chorus
Put him in a long boat till his sober (3x)
Early in the morning!
Chorus
Stick him in a scupper with a hosepipe bottom (3x)
Early in the morning!
Chorus
Put him in the bed with the captains daughter (3x)
Early in the morning!
Chorus
That’s what we do with a drunken sailor (3x)
Early in the morning!
Chorus
Further learning
This tune goes well with Shady Grove.
If you’d like to explore this tune further, take the Drunken Sailor Practice Journey with me. In this group lesson, we’ll start with a basic version and then travel to lands using these strategies and games:
- Looping
- Practice loops
- Transposition
- Call-and-response
- Chord backup
Other versions
Here’s a fun version that emerged on TikTok:
Full Content
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Continue on to Call-and-response 1.7 >>
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Another good one! I’ve never been able to play back up chords–maybe just wasn’t disciplined enough. I always immediately go to the harmony of the melody. Your backing tracks, videos, and suggestions REALLY help me to become more discipline and make my playing “stick” with me, instead of just dancing all over the place.
This is such a good tune!!!!! Just love all the mixing you did with the fiddle, chords, voice, band. Would be nice to do the same thing with a set a tunes, like you suggested in your workshop: Drunken Sailor + Shady Grove & Cluck Old Hen and with YOU arranging all the backing tracks and all. My violon and I are smiling when we have other instruments/voice with us :0
Hey Jocelyne, I do this in the FiddleHed monthly hootenanny. Learn more here: https://fiddlehed.com/community/group-lesson-home-page/fiddlehed-hootenanny/
What is a pirate’s favourite letter??
You might think it’s an “ARRR”, but actually it be the “SEA”
I like a “modern” (by Stan Rogers in the 1970s) sea shanty called Barrett’s Privateers, that is also easy to learn.
I’ve been learning this song, and we are going to do it as a band. Rather than play the melody, as the singer will be doing, how can I play ALONG with this song? Or should I just play the same melody as the singer?
At the end of the video I talk about how to add cords to this song. Give that a try, let me know if it helps…
Enjoyed and thanks for including chords !
Think you will like shanty “Hog Eyed Man” Martin McCarthy and Family version is very cool 😜
OK! Thanks for the suggestion 🙏