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Traditional sea shanty after the Stan Rogers version. The tune is very close to The Miller of Dee, and English folk song.
Many sing this acapella.
Rollin' Down to Old Maui
by trad
It's a [Dm] damn tough [A] life, full of [F] toil and [C] strife,
we [Dm] whalermen [A] under- [Dm] go,
And we [Dm] won't give a [A] damn when the [F] gale is [C] done
how [Dm] hard the [A] winds did [Dm] blow,
'caus we're [F] homeward bound from the [C] Arctic grounds
with a [Dm] good ship taught and [A] free,
And we [Dm] won't give a [A] damn when we [F] drink our [C] rum
with the [Dm] girls from [A] old [Dm] Maui.
( Chorus
Rolling [F] down to old [C] Maui, me boys,
rolling [Dm] down to old [A] Maui,
We're [Dm] homeward [A] bound from the [F] Arctic [C] grounds,
rolling [Dm] down to [A] old [Dm] Maui. )
Once more we sail with the northerly gales
through the ice and wind and rain,
Them coconut fronds, them tropical lands, we soon shall see again;
Six hellish months we've passed away on the cold Kamchatka sea,
But now we're bound from the Arctic ground, rolling down to old Maui.
Chorus
Once more we sail with the Northerly gales, towards our island home,
Our mainmast sprung, our whaling done, and we ain't got far to roam;
Our stuns'l's bones is carried away, what care we for that sound,
A living gale is after us, thank God we're homeward bound.
Chorus
How soft the breeze through the island trees, now the ice is far astern,
Them native maids, them tropical glades, is awaiting our return;
Even now their big brown eyes look out, hoping some fine day to see,
Our baggy sails, running 'fore the gales, rolling down to old Maui.
Chorus X2
we [Dm] whalermen [A] under- [Dm] go,
And we [Dm] won't give a [A] damn when the [F] gale is [C] done
how [Dm] hard the [A] winds did [Dm] blow,
'caus we're [F] homeward bound from the [C] Arctic grounds
with a [Dm] good ship taught and [A] free,
And we [Dm] won't give a [A] damn when we [F] drink our [C] rum
with the [Dm] girls from [A] old [Dm] Maui.
( Chorus
Rolling [F] down to old [C] Maui, me boys,
rolling [Dm] down to old [A] Maui,
We're [Dm] homeward [A] bound from the [F] Arctic [C] grounds,
rolling [Dm] down to [A] old [Dm] Maui. )
Once more we sail with the northerly gales
through the ice and wind and rain,
Them coconut fronds, them tropical lands, we soon shall see again;
Six hellish months we've passed away on the cold Kamchatka sea,
But now we're bound from the Arctic ground, rolling down to old Maui.
Chorus
Once more we sail with the Northerly gales, towards our island home,
Our mainmast sprung, our whaling done, and we ain't got far to roam;
Our stuns'l's bones is carried away, what care we for that sound,
A living gale is after us, thank God we're homeward bound.
Chorus
How soft the breeze through the island trees, now the ice is far astern,
Them native maids, them tropical glades, is awaiting our return;
Even now their big brown eyes look out, hoping some fine day to see,
Our baggy sails, running 'fore the gales, rolling down to old Maui.
Chorus X2