"What Shall We do with a Drunken Sailor" is a sea shanty, sung to accompany certain work tasks aboard sailing ships. It is believed to originate in the early 19th century or before, during a period when ships' crews, especially those of military vessels, were sufficiently large to permit hauling a rope whilst simply marching along the deck. There are many variants of verses, each successive verse suggests a method of sobering or punishing the drunken sailor.

Lyrics

What shall we do with a drunken sailor,
What shall we do with a drunken sailor,
What shall we do with a drunken sailor,
Early in the morning?

Hoo-ray and up she rises
Hoo-ray and up she rises
Hoo-ray and up she rises
Early in the morning

Traditional verses:

Put in the long boat 'til he's sober.
Put him in the scuppers with a hosepipe on him.
Pull out the plug and wet him all over.
Scrape the hair off his chest with a hoop-iron razor.
Give 'im a dose of salt and water.
Stick on his back a mustard plaster.
Give 'im a taste of the bosun's rope-end.