The Ebenezer [476-477] (353-355)

Nope, it's not "A Christmas Carol," but it does feature a "Scrooge" of a ship!
"The Ebenezer" is a funny pump chantey. The critique of the officers and their treatment is reminiscent of "Blow, Boys, Blow," and the line about "Lot's wife's ass" (rhyming with bread as hard as brass) also appears in "Lowlands Low" but the pun/joke is different: "Balam's ass [donkey]"!

Doerflinger also printed a version of "the Ebenezer" in his collection, but the lyrics to the version in Hugill's have a decidedly more authentic "ring" to them.

Also found in:
Doerflinger 1951

See the whole "Shanties from the Seven Seas" project, here:
http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=58B55DD66F22060C

Category:

Music

Tags:

• ebenezer
• scrooge
• christmas
• carol
• dickens
• sea
• shanty
• chantey
• work
• song
• bilge
• pump

[joelwhitson]

The part were you start clapping sounds a lot like a cadence we did a drill Today.

[hultonclint]

To my civilian ears at least, here is one that sounds especially like a military cadence:

/watch?v=GhL98_ujDJU