Lyrics:
Oh the times was hard and the wages low
Leave her, Johnny, leave her
And the grub was bad and the gales did blow
And it’s time for us to leave her
Leave her, Johnny, leave her
Oh, leave her, Johnny, leave her
For the voyage is done and the winds don’t blow
And it’s time for us to leave her
Well, I thought I heard the old man say
Leave her, Johnny, leave her
That it’s time to go and get your pay
And it’s time for us to leave her
Leave her, Johnny, leave her
Oh, leave her, Johnny, leave her
For the voyage is done and the winds don’t blow
And it’s time for us to leave her
Oh her stern was foul and the voyage was long
Leave her, Johnny, leave her
The winds were bad and the gales were strong
And it’s time for us to leave her
Leave her, Johnny, leave her
Oh, leave her, Johnny, leave her
For the voyage is done and the winds don’t blow
And it’s time for us to leave her
We’ll leave her tight and we’ll leave her trim
Leave her, Johnny, leave her
And heave the hungry packet in
And it’s time for us to leave her
Leave her, Johnny, leave her
Oh, leave her, Johnny, leave her
For the voyage is done and the winds don’t blow
And it’s time for us to leave her
And now it’s time to say goodbye
Leave her, Johnny, leave her
For the old pier head’s a-drawing nigh
And it’s time for us to leave her
Leave her, Johnny, leave her
Oh, leave her, Johnny, leave her
For the voyage is done and the winds don’t blow
And it’s time for us to leave her
Featured On:
Songs of the Lakes, Rivers, and Seas
• Recordings I Learned From Or Like •
About the Song:
“Leave Her, Jonny” is a pumping shanty and a growling shanty with no known author. It was traditionally sung during the last task of a voyage. A pumping shanty was sung while the crew pumped a wooden ship’s bilge dry. Growling shanties are a thematic type of shanty that was used to express a sailor’s frustration with their living conditions. Sailors would be punished if they complained to the captain, so they would turn to song instead. Stan Hugill wrote in his 1994 book Shanties from the Seven Seas that “Many unprintable stanzas were sung, directed at the afterguard, the grub, and the owners.” This song has roots in shore songs like “Across the Rockies” and “South Australia”. Its first written record was in Captain John Robinson’s Songs of the Chantey Man series in The Bellman, a magazine in Minneapolis, MN. A fragment called “Tis Time for Us to Leave Her” was included in part four of the series which was published on 8/4/1917.
Other common names include Leave Her Bullies; Time for Us to Leave Her; Leave Her, Johnny/Johnnie, Leave Her; and Times Are Hard and Wages Low.