All For Me Grog

Alternate chorus from Mudcat user Twilight on this thread:

Well it’s all for me grog, me jolly jolly grog
It’s all for me beer and tobacco
I spent all me loot in a house of ill repute
And I think I’ll have to go back there tomorrow

Collected by Ray Harris from the singing of Mrs. Smedley of Matlock, Derbyshire

The hat that I have on, it is so greasy gone
And as you can tell by its shining
It used to fasten up with a button and a loop
But now it’s all worn out to the lining

All through the ale, the confounded ale
All through the ale and tobacco
With a whack-fol-the-day, fol-the-diddle, fol-the-day
All through the ale and tobacco

The coat that I have on, it is so far run down
It’s out at the sleeve and the elbow
It’s needing of repair like a soldier in despair
That’s been seven years in the battle

All through the ale, the confounded ale
All through the ale and tobacco
With a whack-fol-the-day, fol-the-diddle, fol-the-day
All through the ale and tobacco

The breeches I have on, they are so far run down
My legs you so plainly can see them
Pockets I have two but it’s long since they were new
And I never have a penny to put in them

All through the ale, the confounded ale
All through the ale and tobacco
With a whack-fol-the-day, fol-the-diddle, fol-the-day
All through the ale and tobacco

Stockings I have two, but I never had a shoe
And my boots they are open to all weathers
I’ve pulled them off and on till the undersoles are gone
And shockingly destroyed the upper leathers

All through the ale, the confounded ale
All through the ale and tobacco
With a whack-fol-the-day, fol-the-diddle, fol-the-day
All through the ale and tobacco

As for my rags, I don’t give a jag,
I’m not afraid that anyone should rob me
And when I am dead you can put it on my grave
I left this old world as it found me

All through the ale, the confounded ale
All through the ale and tobacco
With a whack-fol-the-day, fol-the-diddle, fol-the-day
All through the ale and tobacco

From the liner notes of Roy Harris’s 1972 album The Bitter and the Sweet:

In the latter days of sail our seamen had a favourite foc’sle song, good for bawling, called “Noggin Boots” or “Across the Western Ocean”, concerning the sailor, boots scuffed, shirt-tail looking out for better weather, who has spent all his money on liquor and ladies, and now faces a dismal transatlantic trip. Australian bushworkers had their similar version, called “Across the Western Plains”. Both songs are based on the English farmworker’s complaint called “All through the Ale.”

As included in The Charmer; A Choice Collection of Songs, English and Scots (1749). Only a fragment of the chorus is included at the end. No air is listed.

Whoa there! This song is pretty bawdy. Nothing too bad, but definitely not for the kiddos. (view song)

Collected by Helen Creighton in her 1966 book Songs and Ballads from Nova Scotia from the singing of Mr. Richard Hartlan and family, South-East Passage.

Oh, I only got one cap, and the crown of it’s all gone
And the peak is all tore to a slunder
And if I don’t get no more, I’ll pull this cap in store
And across the western ocean I shall wonder

Then hurrah for your grog
Your jolly, jolly grog
Hurrah for the rum and tobacco
For I’ve spent all my tin
On a lassie drinking gin
And across the western ocean I shall wander

Oh I only got one shirt, and the neck of it’s all gone
And the back is all tore to a slunder
And if I don’t get no more, I’ll put that shirt in store
And across the western ocean I shall wander

Then hurrah for your grog
Your jolly, jolly grog
Hurrah for the rum and tobacco
For I’ve spent all my tin
On a lassie drinking gin
And across the western ocean I shall wander

Oh I’ve only got one coat and the back of it’s all gone
And the sleeves is all tore to a slunder
And if I don’t get no more, I’ll put that coat in store
And across the western ocean I shall wander

Then hurrah for your grog
Your jolly, jolly grog
Hurrah for the rum and tobacco
For I’ve spent all my tin
On a lassie drinking gin
And across the western ocean I shall wander

Oh I only got one pair of pants, and the buttons they are gone
And the legs is all tore to a slunder
And if I don’t get no more, I’ll put that coat in store
And across the western ocean I shall wander

Then hurrah for your grog
Your jolly, jolly grog
Hurrah for the rum and tobacco
For I’ve spent all my tin
On a lassie drinking gin
And across the western ocean I shall wander

Oh I only got one pair of shoes, and the heels they are gone
And the toes is all tore to a slunder
And if I don’t get no more, I’ll put those shoes in store
And across the western ocean I must wander

Then hurrah for your grog
Your jolly, jolly grog
Hurrah for the rum and tobacco
For I’ve spent all my tin
On a lassie drinking gin
And across the western ocean I shall wander

First printed in the Bulletin in May 1916

Oh for me grog my jolly, jolly grog
Oh for me beer and tobacco
Well I spent all my tin in a shanty drinking gin
Now across the Western Plains I must wander

I’m stiff stoney broke and I’ve parted with me moke
And the sky is looking black as flaming thunder
And the shanty boss is too for I haven’t got a sou
That’s the way you’re treated when you’re down and under

Oh for me grog my jolly, jolly grog
Oh for me beer and tobacco
Well I spent all my tin in a shanty drinking gin
Now across the Western Plains I must wander

Well I’m crook in the head for I haven’t been to bed
Since first I touched this shanty with my plunder
I see centipedes and snakes, and I’m full of pains and aches
So I’d better make a push out over yonder

Oh for me grog my jolly, jolly grog
Oh for me beer and tobacco
Well I spent all my tin in a shanty drinking gin
Now across the Western Plains I must wander

I’ll take that Old Man Plain and I’ll cross it once again
Until me eyes the track no longer see boys
And my beer and whisky brain looks for sleep but all in vain
And I feel as if I had the Darling Pea boys

Oh for me grog my jolly, jolly grog
Oh for me beer and tobacco
Well I spent all my tin in a shanty drinking gin
Now across the Western Plains I must wander

So hang that blasted grog, that hocussed shanty grog
And the beer that’s loaded with tobacco
Grafting humour I am in and I’ll stick the peg right in
And I’ll settle down once more for some hard yakka

Oh for me grog my jolly, jolly grog
Oh for me beer and tobacco
Well I spent all my tin in a shanty drinking gin
Now across the Western Plains I must wander

A.L.Lloyd writes, “Sung straight, the song never seemed to me wildly exiting. But once I heard a drunken shearer named White sing it on a station near Bethungra NSW in a way that would make the hair stand on end.”

Collected by Peter Kennedy from the singing of Bill and Harry Westaway of Belstone, Devon, England in 1950. Published in his 1975 collection, Folksongs of Britain and Ireland.

I’ve got a coat and a nobby, nobby coat
I’ve got a coat a-seen a lot of rough weather
For the sides are near wore out and the back is flying about
And the lining’s looking out for better weather

Here’s to the grog, boys, the jolly, jolly grog
Here’s to the rum and tobacco
I’ve a-spent all my tin with the lassies drinking gin
And to cross the briny ocean I must wander

I’ve got me breeches, me nobby, nobby breeches
I’ve got breeches a-seen a lot of rough weather
For the pouch is near wore out and the seat’s all flying about
And me knees are looking out for better weather

Here’s to the grog, boys, the jolly, jolly grog
Here’s to the rum and tobacco
I’ve a-spent all my tin with the lassies drinking gin
And to cross the briny ocean I must wander

I’ve got me shirt, me nobby, nobby shirt
I’ve got a shirt a-seen a lot of rough weather
For the collar’s near wore out and the sleeves are flying about
And me tail’s looking out for better weather

Here’s to the grog, boys, the jolly, jolly grog
Here’s to the rum and tobacco
I’ve a-spent all my tin with the lassies drinking gin
And to cross the briny ocean I must wander

I’ve got me boots, me nobby, nobby shirt
I’ve got boots a-seen a lot of rough weather
For the bottom’s near wore out and the heels flying about
And me toes are looking out for better weather

Here’s to the grog, boys, the jolly, jolly grog
Here’s to the rum and tobacco
I’ve a-spent all my tin with the lassies drinking gin
And to cross the briny ocean I must wander

I’ve got a tile, a nobby, nobby tile
I’ve got a tile a-seen a lot of rough weather
For the brim it is wore out and the crown is flying about
And the lining’s looking out for better weather

Here’s to the grog, boys, the jolly, jolly grog
Here’s to the rum and tobacco
I’ve a-spent all my tin with the lassies drinking gin
And to cross the briny ocean I must wander

blah

From Sandy & Caroline Paton’s 1987 Folk-Legacy album New Harmony (FSI-100). Sandy notes:

The version I sing of ‘All Gone for Grog’ was collected from Kate Koons, a Connecticut gal I met one night at a coffeehouse gig I did alone because Caroline had the flu. I failed to get her address or phone number, but she had sung the song for me after the program and I really wanted to learn it from her. Caroline went to work and, through the owner of the coffeehouse, managed to locate her father, that took a series of phone calls. When we finally reached him, we discovered that, while we were trying to locate her, she had married and moved to New Hampshire. We tracked her down, visited her at her home in New Hampshire, and recorded her singing the song. She told us that she had learned the song from the singing of her grandfather, an educated man who lived in South Carolina — not a rustic from the hill country. She had no idea where he might have heard it.

I had but one old hat, the hat it had no crown
Oh, wore out, tore out, and asunder
If I cannot buy another, I will keep this hat I got
I will keep this old hat to remember

It’s all gone for grog, jolly, jolly grog
All gone for whiskey and tobacco
Oh, I spent all I had in cash
On those girls to cut a dash
Now I’m left in this wide world to wander

I had but one old coat, the coat it had no back
Oh, wore out, tore out and asunder
If I cannot buy another, I will keep this coat I’ve got
I will keep this old coat to remember

It’s all gone for grog, jolly, jolly grog
All gone for whiskey and tobacco
Oh, I spent all I had in cash
On those girls to cut a dash
Now I’m left in this wide world to wander

I had but one old shirt, shirt it had no sleeves
All wore out, torn out, and asunder
If I cannot buy another, I will keep this shirt I’ve got
I will keep this old shirt to remember

It’s all gone for grog, jolly, jolly grog
All gone for whiskey and tobacco
Oh, I spent all I had in cash
On those girls to cut a dash
Now I’m left in this wide world to wander

I had one pair of pants, the pants, they had no knees
All wore out, tore out, and asunder
If I cannot buy another, I will keep this pair I’ve got
I will keep these old pants to remember

It’s all gone for grog, jolly, jolly grog
All gone for whiskey and tobacco
Oh, I spent all I had in cash
On those girls to cut a dash
Now I’m left in this wide world to wander

I had one pair of boots, boots they had no soles
All wore out, tore out, and asunder
If I cannot buy another, I will keep this pair I’ve got
I will keep these old boots to remember

It’s all gone for grog, jolly, jolly grog
All gone for whiskey and tobacco
Oh, I spent all I had in cash
On those girls to cut a dash
Now I’m left in this wide world to wander

Published by Homer Lee & Co. in New York in the 1878 collection Fag-Ends from the Naval Academy.

Come listen to my song
I’ll not detain you long
It is all about a cruise of yore, sir
How we left our native shore
Which some twice had done before
And together over ocean did wander

Then it’s all for the stripes
The nobby, nobby, stripes
It’s all for the stripes and the diamonds
That we leave our native shore
To roam again once more
And across the western ocean to wander

Navigation on the cruise
Don’t it play the very duce
Oh! The fellows were growling like thunder
And azimuth and sun
Gave little time for fun
As across the western ocean we did wander

Then it’s all for the stripes
The nobby, nobby, stripes
It’s all for the stripes and the diamonds
That we leave our native shore
To roam again once more
And across the western ocean to wander

Instead of tending hops
We were stationed up in tops
Of the former occupation we were fonder
For Venus and the moon
Gave us little time to spoon
As across the western ocean we must wander

Then it’s all for the stripes
The nobby, nobby, stripes
It’s all for the stripes and the diamonds
That we leave our native shore
To roam again once more
And across the western ocean to wander

Published in C. H. Ward-Jackson and Leighton Lucas’s 1967 collection Airmen’s Song Book.

In the 1920’s this song came to be sung in R.A.F. messes overseas when an airman was about to leave on the boat for Home. It was sung to actions, sometimes to a ceremony. The posted airman stood on the mess floor (or table) attired in his tropical kit, discarding each item of clothing at the appropriate verse until he was finally stripped.

This old coat of mine
The inside’s fairly clean.
But the outside has seen some dirty weather
So I’ll cast this coat away
Until the blooming Day
Roll on the ship that takes me Home

This old collar of mine
The inside’s fairly clean
But the outside has seen some dirty weather
So I’ll cast this collar away
Until the blooming Day
Roll on the ship that takes me Home

This old tie of mine
The inside’s fairly clean
But the outside has seen some dirty weather
So I’ll cast this tie away
Until the blooming Day
Roll on the ship that takes me Home

This old shirt of mine
The inside’s fairly clean
But the outside has seen some dirty weather
So I’ll cast this shirt away
Until the blooming Day
Roll on the ship that takes me Home

Note included at the end: And so on until the strip-tease is completed

All for me grog, me jolly, jolly grog
All for me grog and tobacco
For I spent all me store with the lassies on the shore
And it’s all for me grog and tobacco

When I come home then me sweetheart I shall see
All for me grog and tobacco
And me sweetheart shall sing when she sees the wedding ring
And it’s all for me grog and tobacco

All for me grog, me jolly, jolly grog
All for me grog and tobacco
For I spent all me store with the lassies on the shore
And it’s all for me grog and tobacco

When she’s a son for to dandle on her knee
All for me grog and tobacco
She will sing him to sleep while I sail the stormy seas
And it’s all for me grog and tobacco

All for me grog, me jolly, jolly grog
All for me grog and tobacco
For I spent all me store with the lassies on the shore
And it’s all for me grog and tobacco

When he’s a man, then a sailor he shall be
All for me grog and tobacco
With his pipe and his can like a proper sailor man
And it’s all for me grog and tobacco

All for me grog, me jolly, jolly grog
All for me grog and tobacco
For I spent all me store with the lassies on the shore
And it’s all for me grog and tobacco

Posted in this Mudcat discussion by user Alan of Australia

Well I am a ramblin’ lad me story it is sad
If ever I get to Lachlan I should wonder
For I spent all me brass in the bottom of the glass
And across the western plains I must wander

And it’s all for me grog, me jolly jolly grog
It’s all for me beer and tobacco
For I spent all me tin in a shanty drinking gin
Now across the western plains I must wander

Well I’m stiff, stony broke and I’ve parted from me moke
And the sky is lookin’ black as flamin’ thunder
The shanty boss is blue ’cause I haven’t got a sou
That’s the way they treat you when you’re down and under

And it’s all for me grog, me jolly jolly grog
It’s all for me beer and tobacco
For I spent all me tin in a shanty drinking gin
Now across the western plains I must wander

I’m crook in the head and I haven’t been to bed
Since first I touched this shanty with me plunder
I see centipedes and snakes, and I’m full of aches and shakes
And I think it’s time to push for way out yonder

And it’s all for me grog, me jolly jolly grog
It’s all for me beer and tobacco
For I spent all me tin in a shanty drinking gin
Now across the western plains I must wander

I’ll take to the Old Man Plain, and criss-cross him once again
Until me eyes the track no longer see boys
And me beer and whiskey brain search for sleep but all in vain
And I feel as if I’ve had the Darling Pea boys

And it’s all for me grog, me jolly jolly grog
It’s all for me beer and tobacco
For I spent all me tin in a shanty drinking gin
Now across the western plains I must wander

So it’s hang yer jolly grog, yer hocussed shanty grog
The beer that is loaded with tobacco
Graftin’ humour I am in, and I’ll stick the peg right in
And settle down once more to some hard yakka

And it’s all for me grog, me jolly jolly grog
It’s all for me beer and tobacco
For I spent all me tin in a shanty drinking gin
Now across the western plains I must wander

 

Old Man Plain – A large saltbush plain between Hay and Wanganella.
Darling Pea – an illness from eating a native plant
Hard yakka – hard work
Lachlan – a river and valley south of New South Wales

Words by Denis Kevans and Seamus Gill © 1973

Oh, me name it is Fred,
In Sydney born and bred
And the inner-city used to be my home, boys
But it’s caused me heart to grieve
For I’ve had to take me leave
Now across the Western Suburbs I must roam, boys

Under concrete and glass
Sydney’s disappearing fast
It’s all gone for profit and for plunder
Though we really want to stay
They keep driving us away
Now across the Western suburbs we must wander

Now where is me house
Me little terrace house
It’s all gone for profit and for plunder
For the wreckers of the town
Just came up and knocked it down
Now across the Western Suburbs we must wander

Under concrete and glass
Sydney’s disappearing fast
It’s all gone for profit and for plunder
Though we really want to stay
They keep driving us away
Now across the Western suburbs we must wander