'A Drop of Nelson's Blood' is one of the most gruesome sea shanties, with lyrics that have evolved from pub to pub, shanty crew to shanty crew. But what are its lyrics (although there are many variations) – and what's it all about?
What's Nelson's Blood?
This sea shanty, which is also known as Roll the Old Chariot Along, is all about drinking rum - the sailor's drink of choice. When Nelson was killed at the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805 a cask of brandy, or rum, was used to preserve the body until he reached Britain. However the story goes that when Nelson finally reached English shores there was no brandy or rum left in his casket as the sailors had drilled a hole into it - and drunk the lot. From then on brandy and rum became known as 'Nelson's blood', or at least that's how one of the many stories goes anyway...
undefinedWhat are the lyrics to 'A Drop of Nelson's Blood'?
Oh, a drop of Nelson’s blood wouldn’t do us any harm And a drop of Nelson’s blood wouldn’t do us any harm And a drop of Nelson’s blood wouldn’t do us any harm And we’ll all hang on behind
Come on and roll the old chariot along We’ll roll the old chariot along And we'll roll the old chariot along And we’ll all hang on behind!
Oh, a bottle of rum wouldn’t do us any harm A bottle of rum wouldn’t do us any harm A bottle of rum wouldn’t do us any harm And we’ll all hang on behind
Come on and roll the old chariot along We’ll roll the old chariot along And we'll roll the old chariot along And we’ll all hang on behind!
Oh, a night with the girls wouldn’t do us any harm A night with the girls wouldn’t do us any harm A night with the girls wouldn’t do us any harm And we’ll all hang on behind
Come on and roll the old chariot along We’ll roll the old chariot along And we'll roll the old chariot along And we’ll all hang on behind!
You can find the lyrics to many of your favourite sea shanties here
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