The Day I went to Sea


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*secondary music link : left-click here if you can't see the control box above.

The breaks in the text are purely for ease of reading - the song is sung straight through from start to finish, without a break.

When I was one I'd just begun, the day I went to sea :
I jumped aboard a pirate ship
And the Captain said to me,
"We're going this way, that way, forwards, backwards,
Over the Irish Sea.
A bottle of rum to warm me tum,
And that's the life for me,"
Da, da, da,da,
Da, da, da,

When I was two I lost my shoe the day I went to sea,
I jumped aboard a pirate ship
And the Captain said to me,
"We're going this way, that way, forwards, backwards,
Over the Irish Sea.
A bottle of rum to warm me tum,
And that's the life for me,"
Da, da, da,da,
Da, da, da,

When I was three I skinned my knee.....

When I was four I locked the door.....

When I was five I was just alive..........

When I was six I brought some sticks...

When I was seven I came from Devon....

When I was eight I was alomost late.....

When I was nine I walked the line .......

When I was ten I started again, the day i went to sea,
I jumped aboard a pirate ship
And the Captain said to me,
"We're going this way, that way, forwards, backwards,
Over the Irish Sea.
A bottle of rum to warm me tum,
And that's the life for me,"
Da, da, da,da,
Da, da, da.........

You can vary this by allowing the singers' imaginations free rein : point to someone randomly for them to improvisethe rhymes for each verse.

Actions :

When I was one (indicate number by raising finger(s) for each verse)
I'd just begun, the day I went to sea :
I jumped aboard a pirate ship ("jump" - whether standing or seated!)
And the Captain said to me,
"We're going this way, that way, forwards, backwards, (rock body to one side and then the other then forwards and backwards)
Over the Irish Sea (indicate "Over" motion with hand)
A bottle of rum to warm me tum, (take swig from imaginary bottle then rub stomach)
And that's the life for me," (slap thigh theatrically on the word "that's" as a pantomime Principal Boy would.)
Da, da, da,da,
Da, da, da,