e, but more than a dozen shanties
mourn him.

11. THE HOG'S-EYE MAN

Of the numberless versions of this shanty I have chosen that of Capt.
Robertson as being the most representative. Of the infinite number of
verses to this fine tune hardly one is printable. There has been much
speculation as to the origin of the title. As a boy my curiosity was
piqued by reticence, evasion, or declarations of ignorance, whenever I
asked the meaning of the term. It was only in later life that I learnt
it from Mr. Morley Roberts. His explanation made it clear why every
_sailor_ called it either 'hog-eye' or 'hog's-eye,' and why only
_landsmen_ editors ever get the word wrong. One collector labels the
shanty 'The hog-eyed man,' and another goes still further wide of the
mark by calling it 'The ox-eyed man.' The remarks on this shanty in
the Preface will show the absurdity of both titles. That is all the
explanation I am at liberty to give in print. Whall gives the shanty
on page 118, his version differing but slightly from Capt.
Robertson's.

12. THE WILD GOOSE SHANTY

This I learnt from Capt. John Runciman. Allusions to 'The Wild Goose
Nation' occur in many shanties, but I never obtained any clue to the
meaning (if any) of the term. The verse about 'huckleberry hunting'
was rarely omitted, but I never heard that particular theme further
developed. Whall gives another version (in six-eight time) on page
131.

13. WE'RE ALL BOUND TO GO

I used to hear this tune constantly on the Tyne. It is one of the few
shanties which preserved a definite narrative, but each port seems to
have offered variants on the names of the ships that were 'bound for
Amerikee.' 'Mr. Tapscott' was the head of a famous line of emigrant
ships. The last word in verse 5 was always pronounced _male_. This has
led to many shantymen treating it not as _meal_, but as the _mail_
which the ship carried. As the shanty is full of Irish allusions, the
probabilities are that the word was _meal_, to which the sailor gave
what he considered to be the Irish pronunciation. Whenever I heard the
shanty it was given with an attempt at Irish pronunciation throughout.
Capt. Whall (page 79) gives additional colour to the supposition that
this was a general practice, for his version of verse 6 runs:

'Bad luck unto them _say_-boys,
Bad luck to them I say;
They broke into me _say_-chest
And they stole me clothes away.'

14. WHAT SHALL WE DO WIT