Prompt / Lyrics
[Verse 1] Left my boots in a Cork-side room Left my pay in a Galway game Left my name on a girl in Wexford She swore she'd do the same Captain’s drunk on the pier at dawn Muttering deals with the rising tide Says “Lad You owe more than money” “Time to settle that ride” [Chorus] So heave Boys Heave Let the drunken wind decide our way Raise that ragged reef of a sail Out past Dingle Bay So heave Boys Heave (hey!) If the sea wants flesh We pay Sing loud Drown out the fear Down in Dingle Bay [Verse 2] First night out and the sky turns sour Black as the priest in town Barrels roll and the deck starts sliding Half the crew goes down I see Joe with his rosary breaking Hear Mick start cursing in prayer Me I laugh like a fool on a gallows Salt blood in the air [Chorus] So heave Boys Heave Let the drunken wind decide our way Raise that ragged reef of a sail Out past Dingle Bay So heave Boys Heave (oh sing!) If the sea wants flesh We pay Spit truth straight in her face Down in Dingle Bay [Bridge] [Band drops to claps Boots And concertina drone] Who’ll go under? (Not me!) Who’ll be swallowed by the foam? (We’ll see!) Who’ll crawl back to the harbor stones Swearing off this roving roam? [Chorus] So heave Boys Heave Let the drunken wind decide our way Raise that ragged reef of a sail Out past Dingle Bay So heave Boys Heave (hey!) If the sea wants flesh We pay Till our bones ring like bells on the deep Down in Dingle Bay
Tags
folk, Rowdy Irish sea shanty with male vocals and stomp-along floor toms and snare; verses ride on jangly acoustic guitar and wheezing concertina, choruses explode with distorted electric guitars and gang vocals on the hook. Swaggering pub energy that starts in a tight storytelling groove and erupts into shout-along refrains with clapping and boot-stomps, brief middle-break for a cappella call-and-response before final full-band blast., acoustic, shanty, male vocals, electric
Duration
2:43
Instrumental
No
Created
3/31/2026