Lyrics
Fire Marengo
Uncertain origins, likely a cotton-screwing shanty
Traditional
Lift him up and carry him along,
Fire Marengo, fire away,
Send him down where he belongs,
Fire Marengo, fire away.
Stow him down in the hold below,
Fire Marengo, fire away,
One more turn and then we’ll go
Fire Marengo, fire away.
Ease him down and let him lay,
Fire Marengo, fire away,
One more turn and then we’re away
Fire Marengo, fire away.
When I gets back to Liverpool town,
Fire Marengo, fire away,
I’ll pass a line to little Sally Brown
Fire Marengo, fire away.
I’ll haul her high, I’ll haul her low,
Fire Marengo, fire away,
I’ll bust her blocks and make her go
Fire Marengo, fire away.
Sally, she’s a pretty little craft,
Fire Marengo, fire away,
Sharp to the fore with a rounded aft
Fire Marengo, fire away.
Screw the cotton, screw it down
Fire Marengo, fire away,
Let’s get the hell from Mobile town
Fire Marengo, fire away.
Lift him up and carry him along,
Fire Marengo, fire away,
Send him down where he belongs,
Fire Marengo, fire away.
WHERE TO FIND IT
Song Notes
Lyrics from Stan Hugill’s “Shanties from the Seven Seas.”
The name “Marengo” used in this song has a couple of different origins, none of which firmly ties in with the music. The “he” to which is referred in the first two verses is probably bales of cotton being stored in the hold for transport. — Dean
Marengo: the Marengo plain near Alessandria, Italy.
Marengo: a battle in 1800 in which the French under Napoleon Bonaparte won a great victory over the Austrians.
Mobile, Alabama, USA: The Cotton Boom of the early 19th century brought an explosion of commerce to what had been a sleepy frontier town. By the 1850s, Mobile was one of the four busiest ports in the country.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mobile,_Alabama