* * * * *

"LET HER GO!"

A TRAMP CHANTEY.

'Er keel was laid in 'seventy-four
(Let 'er go--let 'er go);
They built 'er cheap an' they scamped 'er sore,
'Er rivets was putty, 'er plates was poor,
And then come in the PLIMSOLL line
Or I wouldn't be singin' this song o' mine.
(Let 'er go!)

She was cranky an' foul, she was stubborn an' slow
(Let 'er go--let 'er go),
An' she shipped it green when it come on to blow;
'Er crews was starved an' their wage was low,
An 'er bloomin' owners was ready to faint
At a scrape o' pitch or a penn'orth o' paint.
(Let 'er go!)

But she's been 'ere an' she's been there
(Let 'er go--let 'er go),
An' she's been almost everywhere;
An' wherever you went you'd sure see _'er_,
With 'er rust-red hawse an' 'er battered old funnel,
All muck an' dirt from 'er keel to 'er gun'le.
(Let 'er go!)