COLLECTED FROM GEORGE PATTISON

JOHNNY BOWKER

Hauling
George Pattison
Cape de Couedie Lighthouse
Kangaroo Island
South Australia
4 Dec 1924 (and 1941)
Clive Carey SS420

Do my Johnny Poco
Come rock and roll me over
Do my Johnny Poco
Do!

Come row me Johnny Poco
Come rock and roll me over
Come row me down to Dover
Do!

Do my Johnny Poco,
The skipper is a rover,

Do my Johnny Poco,
do!

Do my Johnny Poco,
The mate he's never sober,

Do my Johnny Poco
Do!

Hugill refers to this as Johnny Boker explaining it is a sheet or bowline shanty and probably the oldest of all shanty type. They were mainly used on the fore and main sheets – when taking a final ‘jag’. This concerted pull always came on the last word, which would be rarely sung or its note given full value, the men gasping forth a wild howl instead.

Do me Johnny Boker, come rock and roll me over,
Do me Johnny Boker, DO!

This is similar to another shanty Haul On The Bowlne whose refrain goes.:

Haul on the bowline, Kitty she’s my darlin’
Oh, haul on the bowline, the bowline HAUL!

It is quite understandable that Carey, in taking down the songs, notes ‘poco’ instead of ‘Boker’.