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BILLY BOY Lead: Peter and Richard

Originally a shore song, this was sometimes sung by two shantymen at the capstan, one for the questions and one for the answers.

LYRICS:

Solo: Where have you bin all the day, Billy Boy, Billy Boy?
Chorus: Where have you bin all the day, me Billy Boy?
Solo: I've been walkin' on the quay, with me charmin' Nancy Lee
Chorus: And sweet Nancy tickled me fancy, oh, me charmin' Billy Boy!

Is she fit to be yer wife, Billy Boy, Billy Boy?
Aye, she's fit to be me wife as the fork is to the knive

Can she cook a bit o' steak, Billy Boy, Billy Boy?
She can cook a bit o' steak, aye, an' make a gridle cake

Can she make an Irish stew, Billy Boy, Billy Boy?
She can make an Irish stew, aye, an' a Cornish pasty too

Does she sleep close unto thee, Billy Boy, Billy Boy?
Aye, she sleeps close unto me, like the bark is to the tree

Can she make a feather bed, Billy Boy, Billy Boy?
She can make a feather bed, fit for any sailor's head

Can she darn and can she sew, Billy Boy, Billy Boy?
Aye, she can darn and she can sew, there is nought she cannot do

Can she wash and can she clean, Billy Boy, Billy Boy?
Aye, she can wash and she can clean, an' she plays the tambourine

Can she heave the dipsy lead, Billy Boy, Billy Boy?
[She can heave the dipsy lead an' she loves to roll in bed]

Can she strop a block, Billy Boy, Billy Boy?
[Aye, she can strop a block an' she'll be waiting on the dock]

Other verses:

Did she ask you in, Billy Boy… - Yes, she asked me in with a dimple on her chin.
Did she take your hat … - Yes, she took my hat and she threw it at the cat.
Can she bake a cherry pie … - Yes she can bake a cherry pie quick as a cat can wink her eye.
Can she milk a heifer calf … - She'll milk a heifer calf and not miss the bucket more than half.
Are her eyes very bright … - Yes, her eyes are very bright but alas, they're minus sight.

NOTES:

Billy Boy is an example of a shore song taken to sea and turned into a work song, sometimes sung by two shantymen, one for the questions and one for the answers. There are two main versions of this capstan shanty, the well-known one that we sing and one in a minor key. One collector, R.R. Terry, notes the song as a Northumbrian capstan shanty but Stan Hugill states that he met many seamen from London, Liverpool, and South Wales who also knew the song.

Following are some examples of some the original shore songs this shanty may have been derived from:

From American Ballads and Folk Songs, Lomax
Note: Francis Child considered this a version of Lord Randal.
Child #12

BILLY BOY

Where have you been, Billy Boy, Billy Boy?
Where have you been, charming Billy?
I've been down the lane to see Miss Betsy Jane,
She's a young thing and cannot leave her mammy!

Where does she live, Billy Boy, Billy Boy?
Where does she live, charming Billy?
She lives on the hill, forty miles from the mill,
She's a young thing and cannot leave her mammy!

Did she ask you in, Billy Boy, Billy Boy?
Did she ask you in, charming Billy?
Yes, she asked me in with a dimple in her chin,
She's a young thing and cannot leave her mammy!

Did she take your hat, Billy Boy, Billy Boy?
Yes, she took my hat and she threw it at the cat,

Did she set you a chair, Billy Boy, Billy Boy?
Yes she set me a chair, but the bottom wasn't there,

How old is she, Billy Boy, Billy Boy?
Twice six, twice seven, three times twenty and eleven,

How tall is she, Billy Boy, Billy Boy?
She's tall as a pine and straight as a vine,

Can she fry a dish of meat, Billy Boy, Billy Boy?
Yes, she can fry a dish of meat as fast as you can eat,

Can she make a loaf of bread, Billy Boy, Billy Boy?
She can make a loaf of bread with her nightcap on her head,

Can she bake a cherry pie,
She can bake a cherry pie, in the twinkling of an eye,

Can she bake a punkin well, Billy Boy, Billy Boy?
She can bake a punkin well, you can tell it by its smell,
Can she sew and can she fell, Billy Boy, Billy Boy?
She can sew and she can fell, she can use her needle well

Can she make a pair of breeches, Billy Boy, Billy Boy?
She can make a pair of breeches fast as you can count the stitches

Can she make a feather bed, Billy Boy, Billy Boy?
She can make a feather bed that will rise above your head

Can she milk a muley cow, Billy Boy, Billy Boy?
She can milk a muley cow if her mammy shows her how

Is she fitted for your wife, Billy Boy, Billy Boy?
She's fitted for my wife as my pocket for my knife,

Did she sit close to you, Billy Boy, Billy Boy?
Yes, she sat as close to me as the bark upon a tree,

Did you ask her to wed, Billy Boy, Billy Boy?
Yes, I asked her to wed, and this is what she said,

Can she milk a heifer calf, Billy Boy, Billy Boy?
Yes, and not miss the bucket more than half,

Can she feed a sucking pig, Billy Boy, Billy Boy?
Yes, as fast as you can jig,

Can she pull the sheet away, Billy Boy, Billy Boy?
No, that's a game my wife can't play,

Are her eyes dark brown, Billy Boy, Billy Boy?
Yes, she was raised out of town,

Is she very, very fair, Billy Boy, Billy Boy?
Oh yes, she's fair, just touch her if you dare,

Here's a version printed in the Burl Ives Songbook:

BILLY BOY

Where have you been all the day, my boy Willie?
Where have you been all the day, Willie won't you tell me now?
I have been all the day courting of a lady gay
But she's too young to be taken from her mother

Is she fit to be a wife, my boy Willie?
Is she fit to be a wife, Willie won't you tell me now?
She's as fit to be a wife as a fork fits to a knife
But she's too young to be taken from her mother

Can she cook and can she spin, my boy Willie?
Can she cook and can she spin, Willie won't you tell me now?
She can cook, she can spin, she can do most anything
But she's too young to be taken from her mother

Can she bake a cherry pie, my boy Willie?
Can she bake a cherry pie, Willie won't you tell me now?
She can bake a cherry pie quick's a cat can wink her eye
But she's too young to be taken from her mother

Does she often go to church, my boy Willie?
Does she often go to church, Willie won't you tell me now?
Yes, she often goes to church in a bonnet white as birch
But she's too young to be taken from her mother

Can she make a feather bed, my boy Willie?
Can she make a feather bed, Willie won't you tell me now?
She can make a feather bed and put pillows at the head
But she's too young to be taken from her mother

Did she ask you to come in, my boy Willie
Did she ask you to come in, Willie won't you tell me now
Yes, she asked me to come in, she's a dimple in her chin
But she's too young to be taken from her mother

Did she tell how old she is, my boy Willie?
Did she tell how old she is, Willie won't you tell me now?
She's three times six, seven times seven, twenty-eight and eleven
But she's too young to be taken from her mother

Here is a version from a 19th century broadside printed in Baltimore by T. G. Doyle (American Memory). This version is identical to the sheet music from 1847: "Billy Boy, A Curious Legend," by Edward L. White, published by Ditson, Boston.

BILLY BOY

Oh, where have you been, Billy Boy, Billy Boy?
Oh, where have you been, charming Billy?
I have been to seek a wife;
She's the joy of my life,
She's a young thing and cannot leave her mother.

Did she bid you to come in, Billy Boy, Billy Boy?
Did she bid you to come in, charming billy?
Yes, she bade me to come in,
There's a dimple in her chin,
She's a young thing, etc.

Did she set for you a chair, Billy Boy, Billy Boy?
Did she set for you a chair, charming Billy?
Yes, she set for me a chair,
She has ringlets in her hair,
She's etc.

Can she make a cherry pie, Billy Boy, Billy Boy?
Can she make a cherry pie, charming Billy?
She can make a cherry pie,
Quick as a cat can wink her eye;
She's etc.

Is she often seen at church, Billy Boy, Billy Boy?
Is she often seen at church, charming Billy?
Yes, she's often seen at church,
With a bonnet white as birch;
She's etc.

How tall is she, Billy Boy, Billy Boy?
How tall is she, charming Billy?
She's tall as any pine,
And straight as a pumpkin vine,
She's etc.

Are her eyes very bright, Billy Boy, Billy Boy?
Are her eyes very bright, charming Billy?
Yes, her eyes are very bright,
But alas, they're minus sight,
She's etc.

How old is she, Billy Boy, Billy Boy?
How old is she, charming Billy?
She's three times six, four times seven,
Twenty-eighth and eleven,
She's etc.