Shaver, The

DESCRIPTION: Capstan shanty. Tells of going to sea "when I was just a hairless boy," getting kicked around, enduring bad weather, and jumping ship at the first chance. Cho: "When I was just a shaver, a shaver. Oh, I was fed up with sea, when I was just a shaver."
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1961 (Hugill-ShantiesFromTheSevenSeas)
KEYWORDS: shanty sailor homosexuality youth desertion abuse sex
FOUND IN: Britain
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Hugill-ShantiesFromTheSevenSeas, pp. 338-339, "The Shaver" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #9534
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "Paddy Works on the Railway" (Hugill's tune for "Poor Paddy")
NOTES [60 words]: Hugill-ShantiesFromTheSevenSeas says he left out several unprintable verses dealing with homosexual themes which, however common in practice, were rarely sung about. - SL
It sounds, based on Hugill's notes, as if the original did not use the word "shaver," but rather an obscenity, presumably referring to a catamite. I have added keywords on that basis. - RBW
File: Hugi338

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