> Louis Killen > Songs > Leave Her, Johnny

Leave Her, Johnny

[ Roud 354 ; Henry H53b ; Ballad Index Doe089 ; Folkinfo 579 ; DT LEAVEHER , LEAVHER2 ; Mudcat 2407 ; trad.]

Joanna C. Colcord: Songs of American Sailormen Stan Hugill: Shanties From the Seven Seas Gale Huntington, Lani Herrmann, John Moulden: Sam Henry’s Songs of the People Marek Korczynski, Michael Pickering, Emma Robertson: Rhythms of Labour: Music at Work in Britain

In his book Shanties From the Seven Seas, Stan Hugill printed verses of Leave Her, Johnny as a halyard and as a pump shanty. He wrote:

And now we come to the ’Johnny’ song that usually ended the voyage—Leave Her, Johnny, Leave Her! Collectors give pumps and halyards alike as the job it was used for. Terry and Whall call it a hauling song; Miss Colcord and Doerflinger give it for pumps. I think they are all right. It was probably sung at halyards with two solos and refrains, and when a full chorus was added then it was used at the pumps and even capstan. I learnt it partly from my mother’s father, and he always sang the full chorus, and partly from an old Irish sailor, who also used the final chorus. It probably came to life about the time of the Irish potato famine, in the forties, and was originally sung in the Western Ocean Packets in this fashion: …

The later version Leave Her, Johnnies or as some sang it Leave Her, Bullies was sometimes sung during the voyage—at the pumps—but its better-known function was that of airing grievances just prior to the completion of the voyage either when warping the vessel in through the locks or at the final spell of the pumps (in wooden ships) after the vessel had docked. Many unprintable stanzas were sung, directed at the afterguard, the grub, and the owners. Bullen writes that: “to sing it before the last day or so was almost tantamount to mutiny.”

This YouTube video shows Stan Hugill singing Leave Her Johnny at the International Shanty Festival in Workum in 1990. The chorus includes Ron Barnett, Johnny Collins, Nanna Kalma, Jim Mageean, Danny MacLeod, Ryszard Muzaj, Shanty Jack, Janusz Sikorski, Marek Siurawski, Mike Wilson and Steve Wilson:

Dave van Ronk sang Leave Her Johnny in 1959 on Paul Clayton and the Foc’sle Singers’ Folkways album Foc’sle Songs and Shanties. Kenneth S. Goldstein noted:

This pumping shanty was traditionally reserved for the lost task the sailors performed before leaving ship after a hard voyage. With the ship tied fast to the pier, the men worked at pumping her dry. With the voyage over, the sailor was free to express (without fear of reprisal) his heart-felt opinion of the ship and its officers. Then came the parting handshakes and kidding, the seamen shouldered their bags, and left the ship to spend their hard-earned money freely. But always there was the realisation that soon their money would be spent and they would be looking around to sign on for another voyage.

Various authorities seem unanimous in their belief that Leave Her Johnny was a modern form of an older ‘farewell’ shanty Doerflinger writes that it was “derived from the shanty, Across the Western Ocean, which originated about 1850, at the height of the Irish emigration to America.”

For additional texts and information, see Bone, p.135; Bullen, p.8; Colcord, pp.119-121; Davis, p.11; Doerflinger, p.09; Finger, p.13; Harlov, p.280; Ives, p.62; JFSS #18, 1916, p.36; King, p.7; Masefield, p.327; Sharp, pp.3-4; Shay, p.06; C.F. Smith, p.74; Terry II, p.52; Whall, p.50.

Bob Roberts sang this song as Time for Us to Leave Her in a recording made by Peter Kennedy at Cecil Sharp House+ on the 1960 HMV album A Pinch of Salt: British Sea Songs Old and New, and in 1978 as Leave Her, Johnny on his Topic LP Songs From the Sailing Barges. A.L. Lloyd laconically commented in the sleeve notes:

… As for the work-shanties Haul Away, Joe, Whiskey Johnny and Leave Her, Johnny, Bob converts them into lyrical social songs for the sake of their choruses.

Ray and Archie Fisher sang Leave Her Johnny at Leith Town Hall, Edinburgh, November 1963. This recording was released in 1964 on the Waverly album The Hoot’nanny Show Vol. 1.

Ewan MacColl and chorus sang Leave Her Johnny in 1971 on The Critic Group‘s Argo album Ye Mariners All. He noted:

In Songs of Sea Labour, F.T. Bullen states: “It [Leave Her Johnny] sums up all the hatred of a ship that had been accumulating during the voyage. To sing it before the last day or so on board was almost tantamount to mutiny and was apt even at the latest date to be fiercely resented by captain and officers.” In the early 1950s striking sailors walked off the Queen Mary in New York singing this old song.

Tony Saletan with a chorus of Cliff Haslam, David Jones, Gerret Warner, Jeff Warner, Joe Hickerson, John Roberts, Louis Killen and Tony Barrand sang Leave Her, Johnny, Leave Her on the 1973 National Geographic Society album Songs & Sounds of the Sea.

Mick Tems sang Leave Her Johnny, Leave Her in 1978 on Greenwich Village’s various artists album The Shanty Men. Joe Stead noted:

Usually the last shanty sung aboard ship at the end of a voyage, it was used for the final task of pumping the ship dry after she had docked. It was traditional to air any grievances against the afterguard, the owners, or the grub, whilst singing this shanty.

Stan Hugill sang Leave Her, Johnny, Leave Her on board the Cutty Sark on the evening of 11 June 1979 during the Greenwich Festival. This concert’s recording was released in the same year on his Greenwich Village album Aboard the Cutty Sark. He also sang it on his 1988 CD Stan Hugill in Concert at Mystic Seaport.

Jim Mageean and Johnny Collins sang Leave Her, Johnny at the Herga Folk Club on 8 February 1982. This concert’s recording was released in the same year on their Sweet Folk and Country album Live at Herga!. Another live recording from Friesland was released in 1983 on their Greenwich Village album Strontrace!. Johnny Collins with Dave Webber and Pete Watkinson sang Leave Her, Johnny on their 1996 CD Shanties & Songs of the Sea on which he noted:

Usually the last shanty sung aboard ship at the end of a voyage, and used for the final task of pumping the ship dry after she had docked. It was traditional to use this shanty to air any grievances against the afterguard, the owners, the food, or the ship itself.

Stan Rogers (1949-1983) sang Leave Her, Johnny, Leave Her at a benefit concert for the folk magazine Come for to Sing in Holsteins Tavern, Chicago. This recording was included in 1999 on his pusthumous album From Coffee House to Concert Hall.

Danny Spooner sang Leave Her, Johnny on his 1988 album We’ll Either Bend or Break ’Er, and on his 2009 CD Bold Reilly Gone Away. He noted:

But the work is not over until the last ‘sucko’. Leave Her Johnnies was usually the last shanty sung on a journey. With the ship safely berthed, her sails harbour-furled and gear cleared away, there is one last job to do and that is to pump her dry. That job is only over when that sucking sound is heard and an officer gives the order, “That’ll do men”.

Louis Killen recorded Leave Her, Johnny in 1997 for his CD A Seaman’s Garland: Sailors, Ships & Chanteys Vol. 2, where he noted:

Of course, worksongs or chanteys were also a definitive part of the sailor’s repertoire. The Black Ball Line (halyards), Goodbye, Fare Thee Well (capstan), and Leave Her, Johnny (pumps) need no description—their words of pride, longing, and hard work speak volumes.

Louis Killen also sang in the chorus of Dan Milner’s version of Leave Her, Johnny on the latter’s 1998 CD Irish Ballads & Songs of the Sea.

Dave Steele sang Leave Her, Johnny, Leave Her in 1997 on his Fenn Music album Chasing Shadows. He noted:

I remember hearing this song as a boy, at Prestonpans Primary School sitting in Miss Gibson’s class, in front of a massive brown wooden radio. It might well have been the first ‘folk’ song I heard on radio, (BBC Radio for Schools). We all had the BBC book with the words in, giving it mince.

Geoff Kaufman et al sang Leave Her, Johnny in 2001 at the 22^nd Annual Sea Music Festival at Mystic Seaport.

And Lou Reed sang Leave Her, Johnny in 2006 on the anthology Rogue’s Gallery: Pirate Ballads, Sea Songs & Chanteys.

John Roberts sang Leave Her Johnny in 2007 on his Golden Hind album Sea Fever. He noted:

Leave Her Johnny is a popular chantey often sung round the capstan at the end of the voyage.

Jon Boden learnt Leave Her, Johnny from Daniel Jacks at a Forest School Camp when he was about 16 year old. He sang it as the 23 August 2010 entry of his A Folk Song a Day project. The words of his version can be found in the online FSC songbook.

Jeff Warner sang Times Are Hard and Wages Low (Leave Her Johnny, Leave Her) in 2011 on the anthology of shanties collected by Cecil Sharp from the Watchet sailor John Short, Short Sharp Shanties Vol. 2. The anthology’s online notes commented:

Published in pretty well all the collections, this shanty has solidly consistent attributions—Tozer: “Sung when getting into port and preparatory to leaving the vessel”; Bullen: “Sums up all the hatred of a ship that had been accumulating during the voyage. To sing it before the last day or so was almost tantamount to mutiny, and was apt, even at the latest date to be fiercely resented by Captain and Officers”; Sharp: “This chantey was usually sung when getting into port, the chantey-man seizing this opportunity to express the crew’s dissatisfaction with the ship they were about to leave”; Colcord: “reserved for the last task after the ship was fast to the pier—the last spell at the pumps”; Doerflinger: “Traditional last shanty of the voyage. This was sung during the final spell at the pumps, in a wooden ship, as the vessel, her canvas furled, lay snug at her pier, another long passage over. Only one final task—to pump her dry”; Hugill: “Function was that of airing grievances just prior to the completion of the voyage either by warping the vessel in through the locks or at the final spell of the pumps”.

Melody and structure are very similar in all the published versions, and both reveal that the shanty originated in shore songs such as Across the Rockies, Amelia Where You Bound To? and Across the Western Ocean, which itself is arguably the oldest form of this shanty proper. Short’s verses are not the most vicious or critical that have been recorded. The shanty has been extended by the addition of four common floating verses at the end.

Joshua Burnell sang Leave Her Johnny on 27 May 2017 in his “a folk song a week” song cycle. This was included in 2021 on his album Seasons Vol. 2 Spring. He noted:

At the time of recording this song, I would never have believed sea shanties would become the next big thing. Sadly, I was three years ahead of the curve and wasn’t a TikTok-sawy postman. However, this particular sea shanty went mainstream even before Nathan Evans made it a sick beat enjoyed by the youth of today. If you’re a gamer, you’ll know about Assassin’s Creed which uses sea shanties to make the gaming world that bit more authentic.

I might be young in body, but inside I must be about seventy because I don’t have TikTok, I’ve never played Assassin’s Creed, but I do enjoy listening to Johnny Collins singing sea shanties. I’ll be completely honest and say shanties are not my favourite form of folk music, but I do appreciate the harmonies and their rousing spirit and wanted to include at least one in the Seasons Project.

I’ll be the first to admit I’m much nearer the ‘elf’ end of the spectrum than ‘pirate’ so I figured I should just embrace it and do less beardy chanting but draw out the pretty melody instead. I’d wanted to do a collaboration with York’s melodeon maestro, Paul Young for some time, and he’s quite a pirate-y fellow (more on that later) so this seemed like the perfect opportunity.

We met up twice: once to jam it through and again to record it in a live take. I love this recording. Paul’s a great player and there was something refreshing about recording it in the moment instead of multitracking. If I could go back in time and do this project again, I’d do the whole thing this way.

Jon Wilks sang Leave Her, Johnny on his 2019 digital EP The Trial of Bill Burn Under Martin’s Act. He noted:

[…] You’ll also find a version of the time-worn sea shanty classic, Leave Her, Johnny, which I’ve arranged as something a little more world-weary than the boisterous versions most people would recognise. When I first read the lyrics I assumed it was about people abandoning and saying farewell to a sinking ship. It wasn’t until much later that I heard recordings of it that suggested it might be a celebratory song! So I’m afraid this version is dripping with melancholy. My apologies to anyone expecting a knees-up.

Ainsley Hamill sang Leave Her, Johnny on her 2025 album Fable.

Lyrics

Dave van Ronk sings Leave Her Johnny

O times were hard and the wages low,
Leave her, Johnny, leave her!
I guess it’s time for us to go,
It’s time for us to leave her!

Beware the packet ships I say,
They’ll steal your stories and your clothes away

There’s Liverpool Pat with his tarpaulin hat,
And Yankee John, the packet rat.

She would not wear and she would not stay,
She shipped great seas both night and c$day.

It’s rotten beef and weevily bread,
It was pump or drown the old man said,

The sails all furled, our work is done,
And now ashore we’ll take our run.

O what will us poor shellbacks do,
Our money’s gone, no work to do.

Bob Roberts sings Leave Her, Johnny

O times are bad and wages are low,
Leave her, Johnny, leave her!
I dare say it’s time for us to go,
It’s time for us to leave her!

For there’s Liverpool Pat in his tarpaulin hat
And Yankee John the packet rat.

O mahogany beef and weevil bread,
We wish old Leatherface was dead.

O I pray that I shall never see
A hungry ship the likes of she.

O don’t you hear our old man say,
Tomorrow you will get your pay.

O she would neither win nor wear,
She’s parted all her running gear.

Danny Spooner sings Leave Her, Johnny

O the work was hard and the wages low,
Leave ’er Johnny, leave ’er
But now once more ashore we’ll go,
And it’s time for us to leave ’er.
Leave ’er Johnny, leave ’er oh,
Leave ’er Johnny, leave ’er
But now once more ashore we’ll go,
And it’s time for us to leave ’er.

O a dollar a day is a shellback’s pay,
To pump all night and haul all day.

“It’s pump or drown,” the old man said,
“It’s pump ye whores or we’ll all be dead.”

No more Cape Horn, no more stand by,
We’ll pump ’er out and we’ll leave ’er dry.

O the rats are gone and we the crew,
It’s damned high time we left ’er too.

Well I thought I heard the old man say,
“Just one suck, oh! And then belay.”

Louis Killen sings Leave Her, Johnny

O the times was hard and the wages low,
Leave her, Johnny, leave her!
But now once more ashore we’ll go,
An’ it’s time for us to leave her!

Chorus (repeated after each verse):
Leave her, Johnny, leave her!
O leave her, Johnny, leave her!
For the voyage is done and the winds don’t blow,
And it’s time for us to leave her!

O I thought I heard the old man say,
Tomorrow ye will get your pay!

O the work was hard and the voyage was long,
The sea was high and the gales were strong.

O the wind was foul and the sea ran high,
She shipped it green and none went by.

O the wind was foul, all work, no pay,
To Liverpool docks from Frisco Bay.

We was made to pump all night and day,
And we half-dead had bugger-all to say.

We’d be better off in a nice clean gaol,
Will all night in and plenty of ale.

She’s poverty-stricken and parish-rigged,
And the bloomin’ crowd is fever-stricked.

Dave Steele sings Leave Her, Johnny, Leave Her

I thought I heard the old man say
Leave her, Johnny, leave her
Tomorrow you will get your pay
And it’s time for us to leave her

O the times were hard and the wages low
The grub was bad and the boats all slow

O her stern was foul and the voyage long
The winds too cold and the gales too strong

So we’ll leave her tight and we’ll leave her trim
And we’ll heave this hungry packet in

O now its time to say goodbye
For the old pierhead is drawing nigh

John Roberts sings Leave Her Johnny

Now the times was hard and the wages low,
Leave her, Johnny, leave her,
But now once more ashore we’ll go,
And it’s time for us to leave her.

Chorus:
Leave her, Johnny, leave her
O leave her, Johnny, leave her
For the voyage is done and the winds don’t blow
And it’s time for us to leave her.

She would not wear, she would not stay,
She shipped it green both night and day.

It was rotten meat and weevily bread
You’ll eat it or starve, the old man said.

The winds were foul, all work no play
To the Davis Strait and back to the quay.

I thought I heard the old man say
You may go ashore and get your pay.

It’s time for us to say goodbye
For the old pierhead is drawing nigh.

Jon Boden sings Leave Her, Johnny

I thought I heard the old man say,
Leave her, Johnny, leave her,
It’s a long hard pull to the next pay day
And it’s time for us to leave her.

Chorus:
Leave her, Johnny, leave her,
O leave her, Johnny, leave her;
It’s a long hard pull to the next pay day
And it’s time for us to leave her.

And the captain was bad but the mate was worse,
He could blow you down with a sigh and a curse

Chorus:
Leave her, Johnny, leave her,
O leave her, Johnny, leave her;
He could blow you down with a sigh and a curse
And it’s time for us to leave her.

And the rats are all gone and we the crew,
Well, it’s time, by Christ, that we went too.

And a dollar a day is a Jack Shite’s pay
When it’s pump all night and it’s work all day

It was pump or drown, the old man said,
Or else, by Christ, we’ll all be dead.