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