Maggie May
Traditional:
courtesy of www.SailorSongs.com
This is a Liverpool seaman's song, The Beatles did a short version of it on The "Let It Be" album - I recorded a version on a CD - download the song from the Sea Shanty Store page on this site.
Now gather round you sailor boys and listen to my plea and
When you’ve heard my tale you’ll pity me
For I was a real damned fool in the port of Liverpool
The first time that I came home from the sea……………..
We paid off at the home from the port of Sierra Leone and
Four pounds ten a month that was my pay
With a pocket full of tin I was very soon taken in by a
Girl with the name of Maggie May.
CHORUS
Oh Maggie Maggie May they have taken her away
And she’ll never walk down Lime street anymore
For she robbed so many sailors and captains of the whalers
That dirty robbin’ no good Maggie May.
Oh well I do remember when I first met Maggie May
She was cruising up and down old Canning Place
She’d a figure so divine like a frigate of the line
So me being a sailor I gave chase………..…CHORUS
Next morning when I awoke I was flat and stoney broke
No jacket trousers waistcoat I could find
When I asked her where they were she said - My very dear sir
They’re down in Kelly’s knocker number nine...CHORUS
To the pawnshop I did go but no clothes there I did find and
The policeman came and took that girl away
The judge he guilty found her of
Robbing the homeward bounder and
Paid her passage back to Botany Bay ...
CHORUS TWICE
The author of this website has put a lot of time and effort into gathering the greatest collection of sea shanties for the world to enjoy - There are songs that have been to sung to a job of work at sea for many, many years and collecting them has been a great endeavour. - Roger Chartier has made the effort out of his own interest and the requests that he has gotten to do this work from fellow musicians who wanted a good source of sea shanties to draw on and learn from. He has been told that for this effort he is a remarkable man.
