Traditional Sea Shanties & Sea Songs
Codfish Shanty

A Collection of lyrics for traditional Sea Shanties & Songs of the Sea.

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Codfish Shanty

Melbourne girls, they have no combs
Heave away, heave away
They comb their hair with cod-fish bones
And we're bound for Australia.

Chorus:
Heave away, my bully bully boys,
Heave away, heave away
Heave away, why don't you make a noise
And we're bound for Australia.

2. Melbourne boys, they have no sleds
Heave away, heave away
They slide downhill on cod-fish heads
And we're bound for Australia.
Chorus:

3. Liza Lee, she promised me
Heave away, heave away
When I return she'll marry me
And we're bound for Australia.
Chorus:
There is some discrepancy as to whether this is a shanty of old or new origin. One commentator says it "rarely shows up in songbooks of the day". Well, to me rarely is better than not at all. I will include it until proven otherwise.