"Barnacle Bill the Sailor" (Roud 4704) is an American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 drinking song

Drinking song

A drinking song is a song sung while drinking alcohol. Most drinking songs are folk songs, and may be varied from person to person and region to region, in both the lyrics and in the music...

 adapted from "Bollocky Bill the Sailor", a traditional folk song originally titled "Abraham Brown".

There are several versions of the bawdy song in the Gordon "Inferno" Collection at the Library of Congress

Library of Congress

The Library of Congress is the research library of the United States Congress, de facto national library of the United States, and the oldest federal cultural institution in the United States. Located in three buildings in Washington, D.C., it is the largest library in the world by shelf space and...

 folklife archive. The first printed version of the song is in the public domain book Immortalia (1927). Later versions feature the eponymous "Barnacle Bill", a fictional character

Fictional character

A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...

 very loosely based on a 19th-century San Francisco sailor

Sailor

A sailor, mariner, or seaman is a person who navigates water-borne vessels or assists in their operation, maintenance, or service. The term can apply to professional mariners, military personnel, and recreational sailors as well as a plethora of other uses...

 and Gold Rush

California Gold Rush

The California Gold Rush began on January 24, 1848, when gold was found by James W. Marshall at Sutter's Mill in Coloma, California. The first to hear confirmed information of the gold rush were the people in Oregon, the Sandwich Islands , and Latin America, who were the first to start flocking to...

 miner

Miner

A miner is a person whose work or business is to extract ore or minerals from the earth. Mining is one of the most dangerous trades in the world. In some countries miners lack social guarantees and in case of injury may be left to cope without assistance....

 named William Bernard

William Bernard

William Bernard was a 19th-century sailor, miner and resident of San Francisco, better known as the notorious "Barnacle Bill" of American yore whose fictional exploits are chronicled in the ribald drinking song "Barnacle Bill the Sailor" — itself adapted from "Bollocky Bill the Sailor", a...

. Versions are also known in England and Scotland from the early twentieth century.

The earliest known recording is an expurgated adaptation by Carson Robison

Carson Robison

Carson Jay Robison was an American country music singer and songwriter. Although his impact is generally forgotten today, he played a major role in promoting country music in its early years through numerous recordings and radio appearances. He was also known as Charles Robison and sometimes...

 and Frank Luther

Frank Luther

Frank Luther was an American country music singer, dance band vocalist, playwright, songwriter and pianist.-Early life:...

 in 1928. This version was also recorded on May 21, 1930 by Bix Beiderbecke

Bix Beiderbecke

Leon Bismark "Bix" Beiderbecke was an American jazz cornetist, jazz pianist, and composer.With Louis Armstrong, Beiderbecke was one of the most influential jazz soloists of the 1920s...

 and Hoagy Carmichael

Hoagy Carmichael

Howard Hoagland "Hoagy" Carmichael was an American composer, pianist, singer, actor, and bandleader. He is best known for writing "Stardust", "Georgia On My Mind", "The Nearness of You", and "Heart and Soul", four of the most-recorded American songs of all time.Alec Wilder, in his study of the...

 with Carson Robison on vocals and released as a Victor 78, V-38139-A and 25371. In 1996 it was released on CD on the album "Bix Beiderbecke 1927–1930". According to Philip R. Evans, Bix Beiderbecke's biographer, in the second chorus of this recording, violinist Joe Venuti can be heard singing "Barnacle Bill the Sh-t-head," either to express his attitude toward the record producer, or typical of his wacky sense of humor. Esten Spurrier, a friend of Beiderbecke's, is quoted by Evans as saying that Bix told him he couldn't believe the record would be pressed and had felt that it had been done just for laughs. Beiderbecke cut loose on the tune with what is believed to be one of his finest cornet solos. John Valby

John Valby

John Valby is a musician and comedian who plays in barrooms and college campuses up and down the East Coast. Using an old-fashioned piano, he creates comedic, obscene parodies of classic songs. He can always be found performing in his classic white tailcoat and black derby hat.Valby lives up to...

 (aka "Dr. Dirty") also recorded the song. The tune has inspired a Fleischer Studios

Fleischer Studios

Fleischer Studios, Inc., was an American corporation which originated as an Animation studio located at 1600 Broadway, New York City, New York...

 Betty Boop

Betty Boop

Betty Boop is an animated cartoon character created by Max Fleischer, with help from animators including Grim Natwick. She originally appeared in the Talkartoon and Betty Boop film series, which were produced by Fleischer Studios and released by Paramount Pictures. She has also been featured in...

 cartoon

Barnacle Bill (1930 cartoon)

Barnacle Bill is a 1930 Fleischer Studios animated short film. It was part of the Talkartoons series, and featured Betty Boop and Bimbo .-Plot:...

 and two films, as well as the name of a rock

Barnacle Bill (Mars)

Barnacle Bill is a rock on Mars in Ares Vallis. It was the first rock on Mars analyzed by the Sojourner rover using its Alpha Proton X-ray Spectrometer...

 on Mars

Mars

Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun in the Solar System. The planet is named after the Roman god of war, Mars. It is often described as the "Red Planet", as the iron oxide prevalent on its surface gives it a reddish appearance...

. Louis Jordan

Louis Jordan

Louis Thomas Jordan was a pioneering American jazz, blues and rhythm & blues musician, songwriter and bandleader who enjoyed his greatest popularity from the late 1930s to the early 1950s. Known as "The King of the Jukebox", Jordan was highly popular with both black and white audiences in the...

 (The Elks Rendezvous Band) recorded it in 1938. In the very first Fleischer Popeye

Popeye

Popeye the Sailor is a cartoon fictional character created by Elzie Crisler Segar, who has appeared in comic strips and animated cartoons in the cinema as well as on television. He first appeared in the daily King Features comic strip Thimble Theatre on January 17, 1929...

cartoon, Popeye the Sailor

Popeye the Sailor (1933 cartoon)

Popeye the Sailor is a 1933 Fleischer Studios animated short, directed by Dave Fleischer. While billed as a Betty Boop cartoon, it actually starred Popeye the Sailor in his first animated appearance.-Summary:...

(1933), "Barnacle Bill" was used as the recurring theme for the Bluto

Bluto

Bluto is a cartoon and comics character created in 1932 by Elzie Crisler Segar as a one-time character, named "Bluto the Terrible", in his Thimble Theatre comic strip . Bluto made his first appearance September 12 of that year...

 character. A later Fleischer Popeye cartoon, Beware of Barnacle Bill (1935), is a mock operetta

Operetta

Operetta is a genre of light opera, light in terms both of music and subject matter. It is also closely related, in English-language works, to forms of musical theatre.-Origins:...

 based around a toned-down version of the song.

Example of lyrics

One version of "Barnacle Bill" refers to an exchange between Bill and a "fair young maiden." Each verse opens with inquiries by the maiden, sung by women, or by men in falsetto

Falsetto

Falsetto is the vocal register occupying the frequency range just above the modal voice register and overlapping with it by approximately one octave. It is produced by the vibration of the ligamentous edges of the vocal folds, in whole or in part...

, and continues with Bill's profane responses sung by men. There are however, several cleaner versions of the song which may be found on various sites on the internet.

"Who's that knocking at my door? Who's that knocking at my door?

Who's that knocking at my door?" said the fair Young Maiden.

"It's me and my crew and we've come for a screw!" said Barnacle Bill the Sailor.

"It's me and my crew and we've come for a screw!" said Barnacle Bill the Sailor.

Alternate Responses:

"It's only me from over the sea" said Barnacle Bill the Sailor.

"It's only me from over the sea" said Barnacle Bill the Sailor.

"Open the door, you pox-ridden whore!" said Barnacle Bill the Sailor.

"Open the door, you pox-ridden whore!" said Barnacle Bill the Sailor.

"Open the door, you dirty whore!" said Barnacle Bill the Sailor.

"Open the door, you dirty whore!" said Barnacle Bill the Sailor.

"It's me myself and nobody else!" said Barnacle Bill the Sailor.

"It's me myself and nobody else!" said Barnacle Bill the Sailor.

"What if I should lock the door? What if I should lock the door?

What if I should lock the door?" said the fair Young Maiden.

"I'll smash the lock with my diamond-hard cock!" said Barnacle Bill the Sailor.

"I'll smash the lock with my diamond-hard cock!" said Barnacle Bill the Sailor.

"What if my parents should come home? What if my parents come home?

What if my parents should come home?" said the fair Young Maiden.

"I'll kill your pa and then fuck your ma!" said Barnacle Bill the Sailor.

"I'll kill your pa and then fuck your ma!" said Barnacle Bill the Sailor.

"Are you young and handsome, sir? Are you young and handsome, Sir?"

Are you young and handsome, sir?" said the fair Young Maiden.

"I'm old and rough and dirty and tough!" said Barnacle Bill the Sailor.

"I'm old and rough and dirty and tough!" said Barnacle Bill the Sailor.

"What is your intention, sir? What is your intention, sir?

What is your intention, sir?" said the fair Young Maiden.

"Oh, off with your shirt, so you doesn't get hurt!" said Barnacle Bill the Sailor.

"Oh, off with your shirt, so you doesn't get hurt!" said Barnacle Bill the Sailor.

"Will you take me to the dance? Will you take me to the dance?

Will you take me to the dance?" said the fair Young Maiden.

"To Hell with the dance! Now off with your pants!" said Barnacle Bill the Sailor.

"To Hell with the dance! Now off with your pants!" said Barnacle Bill the Sailor.

"Will you vow to marry me? Will you vow to marry me?

Will you vow to marry me?" said the fair Young Maiden.

"No, we won't wed. Getcher ass in the bed!" said Barnacle Bill the Sailor.

"No, we won't wed. Getcher ass in the bed!" said Barnacle Bill the Sailor.

"What's that thing between your legs? What's that thing between your legs?

What's that thing between your legs?" said the fair Young Maiden.

"It's only me pole to shove in your holes!" said Barnacle Bill the Sailor.

"It's only me pole to shove in your holes!" said Barnacle Bill the Sailor.

"What if I should have a child? What if I should have a child?

What if I should have a child?" said the fair Young Maiden.

"We'll smother the bugger and fuck for another!" said Barnacle Bill the Sailor.

"We'll smother the bugger and fuck for another!" said Barnacle Bill the Sailor.

Alternate Response:

"I'll open your crack, and shove it right back!" said Barnacle Bill the Sailor.

"I'll open your crack, and shove it right back!" said Barnacle Bill the Sailor.

"What if we should have a boy? What if we should have a boy?

What if we should have a boy?" said the fair Young Maiden.

"I'll take him to sea, teach him to fuck like me!" said Barnacle Bill the Sailor.

"I'll take him to sea, teach him to fuck like me!" said Barnacle Bill the Sailor.

"What if we should have a girl? What if we should have a girl?

What if we should have a girl?" said the fair Young Maiden.

"I'll dig a ditch and bury the bitch!" said Barnacle Bill the Sailor.

"I'll dig a ditch and bury the bitch!" said Barnacle Bill the Sailor.

"What if you should go to jail? What if you should go to jail?

What if you should go to jail?" said the fair Young Maiden.

"I'll smash down the walls with my forty-pound balls!" said Barnacle Bill the Sailor.

"I'll smash down the walls with my forty-pound balls!" said Barnacle Bill the Sailor.

Alternate Response:

"I'll pick the lock with me wagglin' cock!" said Barnacle Bill the Sailor.

"I'll pick the lock with me wagglin' cock!" said Barnacle Bill the Sailor.

“What if you should get the gas? What if you should get the gas?

What if you should get the gas?” said the fair Young Maiden.

"I'll stuff the gas right up my ass!” said Barnacle Bill the Sailor.

"I'll stuff the gas right up my ass!” said Barnacle Bill the Sailor.

"What if you should get the chair? What if you should get the chair?

What if you should get the chair?" said the fair Young Maiden.

"I'll lay a fart and blow it apart!" said Barnacle Bill the Sailor.

"I'll lay a fart and blow it apart!" said Barnacle Bill the Sailor.

Alternate Response:

"I'll absorb the shock with my steel-hard cock!" said Barnacle Bill the Sailor.

"I'll absorb the shock with my steel-hard cock!" said Barnacle Bill the Sailor.