“When I’m discharged at Liverpool ‘n’ draws my bit o’ pay,
I won’t come to sea no more;
I’ll court a pretty little lass ‘n’ have a weddin’ day,
‘N’ settle somewhere down shore;
I’ll never fare to sea again a-temptin’ Davy Jones,
A-hearkening to the cruel sharks a-hungerin’ for my bones;
I’ll run a blushin’ dairy-farm or go a-crackin’ stones,
Or buy ‘n’ keep a little liquor-store” &mdash
So he said.
They towed her in to Liverpool, we made the hooker fast,
And the copper-bound official paid the crew,
And Billy drew his money, but the money didn’t last,
For he painted the alongshore blue, &mdash
It was rum for Poll, and rum for Nan, and gin for Jolly Jack;
He shipped a week later in the clothes upon his back;
He had to pinch a little straw, he had to beg a sack
To sleep on, when his watch was through, &mdash
So he did.
(John Masefield)
More Poetry from John Masefield:
John Masefield Poems based on Topics: Money & Wealth- Biography (John Masefield Poems)
- The (John Masefield Poems)
- Seven Poems (John Masefield Poems)
- One of the Bo'sun's Yarns (John Masefield Poems)
- The Yarn of the (John Masefield Poems)
- The Passing Strange (John Masefield Poems)
Readers Who Like This Poem Also Like:
Based on Topics: Money & Wealth PoemsBased on Keywords: towed, davy, hooker, blushin, copper-bound, a-crackin
- The Minstrel; Or, The Progress Of Genius : Book I. (James Beattie Poems)
- The Tragedy of White Injustice (Marcus Mosiah Garvey Poems)
- The Progres Of The Soule (John Donne Poems)
- Resignation Pt 1 (Edward Young Poems)
- A Poem On The African Slave Trade. Addressed To Her Own Sex. Part II (Mary Birkett Card Poems)