The Chantey of the Sailing Soviets

Incidents of the voyage of the Austraport from London to Melbourne proved that the job control policy on board Australian ships has not been eliminated.

The day o' the brutal skipper's parst
    (Blow, my bully boys, blow!)
An' the proud furst mate e's gone at last
    (Blow, my bully boys, blow!)
We've done with all authori-tee
    For ever on the boundless sea,
An' boundless liberty 'ave we
    (Blow, my bully boys, blow!)

We was ten days out from a deep-sea
    pier
    (Blow, my bully boys, blow!)
When Sailor Sam sez 'e, "Look ere—
    (Blow, my bully boys, blow!)
We've done with this one-man control—
    Ye'd think a sailor 'ad no soul—
An' I 'ates these orders, on the 'ole."
    (Blow, my bully boys, blow!)

So we chuck the captain in the deep
    (Blow, my bully boys, blow!)
An' all the mates went in a 'eap
    (Blow, my bully boys, blow!)
With ne'er a weight and ne'er a shroud,
They went down with a gurglin' loud
To the cheers o' the merry soviet crowd
    (Blow, my bully boys, blow!)

Now, Sailor Sam, sez 'e, "It's fair—
    (Blow, my bully boys, blow!)
That every man should 'ave 'is share—
    (Blow, my bully boys, blow!)
Controllin' this 'ere ship of ours,
We takes our turn an' 'as full pow're
To shape our course for a full twelv
    hours."
    (Blow, my bully boys, blow!)

Now, Sailor Sam 'e 'ad first go
    (Blow, my bully boys, blow!)
An' nor' by east by a point or so
    (Blow, my bully boys, blow!)
'E set 'er 'ead an' we sailed away
To the nor' by east fer 'arf a day
Then the bridge was claimed by Peter
    May
    (Blow, my bully boys, blow!)

Now Peter May was a 'ome-sick cove
    (Blow, my bully boys, blow!)
With a 'ome-port girl 'e'd fell in love
    (Blow, my bully boys, blow!)
To the sou' by west 'e swung 'er round,
An' 'e ordered steam be the thousand
    pound
When the bridge was claimed by
    Stephen Sound.
    (Blow, my bully boys, blow!)

Says Stephen Sound, "Your trick is
    past—"
    (Blow, my bully boys, blow!)
But Peter May he shouts, "Avast!—
    (Blow, my bully boys, blow!)
I seeks my true love sou' by west—
An' 'e punched poor Stephen in the chest;
And a row arose amidst the rest
    (Blow, my bully boys, blow!)

So we ups an' fights for a day an' a
    night,
    (Blow, my bully boys, blow!)
An' the marlin-spikes swung left an'
    right
    (Blow, my bully boys, blow!)
An' the good ole ship she swung around
An' struck a rock with a thumpin'
    sound;
An' that's 'ow come we all was drowned
    (Blow, my bully boys, blow!)
    Heave ho!
    (Blow, my bully boys, blow!)