Haul on the bowline, our bully ship's a-rollin'
Haul on the bowline, the bowline Haul!

Haul on the bowline, Kitty is my darlin'

Haul on the bowline, Kitty lives in Liverpool,

Haul on the bowline, the old man is a-growlin,

Haul on the bowline, so early in the mornin'

Haul on the bowline, it's a far cry to payday,

Short-drag shanty. This may be one of the oldest around: the
bowline was a line used to pull the weather edge of a square sail
as far out to windward as possible when reaching. It was largely
obsoleted by the introduction of staysails in the early
eighteenth century.