Work / monument · song

Drunken Sailor

sung by the 1830s; first described in print from a whaling voyage of 1839 · 19th century

"Drunken Sailor", also known as "What Shall We Do with a Drunken Sailor?" or "Up She Rises", is a traditional sea shanty, number 322 in the Roud Folk Song Index. Who made it and where is not known. It resembles the traditional Irish song "Óró sé do bheatha abhaile" in its chord progression and in its repeated words over melodic sequences, and it is in the Dorian mode.

Songs in history

Drunken Sailor1839

See also

Cite this entry
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). Drunken Sailor. In The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/drunken-sailor
MLA
“Drunken Sailor.” The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/drunken-sailor. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “Drunken Sailor.” The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/drunken-sailor.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Drunken Sailor’, The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/drunken-sailor (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random entry ↻