Blood Red Roses

A traditional halyard shanty, the earliest written reference to which seems to be in 1879, this piece was popularized in its current form by A.L. Lloyd in a 1956 film adaptation of Moby Dick. His version was based on a transcription by Doerflinger in 1951, who had found it in a sailor's manuscript dated 1893.
Though widely believed to refer to the welts from a flogging, there is no true consensus on the meaning of "blood red roses" in the song's refrain, and in fact the phrase seems to originate with Lloyd's version. Doerflinger and all earlier known examples give the title as some variation on "Come Down, You [Bunch of] Roses". It also appears to be related to a Caribbean children's play song called "Coming Down with a Bunch of Roses". Some collectors speculated that the "roses" were a reference to British soldiers in the Napoleonic wars, but there is little evidence to support this theory; it may simply refer to a sweetheart, or indeed, literal flowers.https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2013/11/debunking-myth-that-go-down-you-blood.html
==Lyrics==
These lyrics are based on the versions performed by the Longest Johns in their livestreams, although the number and order of verses varies between performances. The lyrics of the popular Lloyd version can be found here.
Oh me boots and clothes are all in pawn
(Go down, you blood red roses, go down)
And its bloody drafty 'round Cape Horn
(Go down, you blood red roses, go down) [continues throughout]
{Chorus}
Oh, you pinks and posies,
Go down, you blood red roses, go down
But it's 'round Cape Horn that we must go
For that is where the whale-fish blow
{Chorus}
My dear old mother wrote to me
Ah son, won't you come home from sea
{Chorus}
Well it's rouse and bust her is the cry
The bleedin' topsail sheet is dry
{Chorus}
It's growl you may, but go you must
You growl too loud, your head they'll bust
{Chorus}
Well it's rock and roll and make some noise
Let's get this damn job over, boys
{Chorus}
==Recordings==
====Youtube Videos====
*The Longest Johns | Blood red roses
*Is That Barrel Singing? | Sea of Thieves Gameplay | Blood Red Roses
====Gig Videos====
*Teign Shanty Festival, Teignmouth (28 Sep 2019)
*Port Isaac Shanty Festival (8 Sep 2019)
====Full Band Streams====
*The Longest Johns Impromptu Singing Stream! (17 Nov 2018)
*The Longest Johns Early Octobermas (2 Oct 2019)
*Welcome to a New Decade with The Longest Johns (22 Jan 2020)
*The Longest Johns Save the Day! Or maybe just sing and chat... (29 Apr 2020)
*Stream me up Scotty! (23 Aug 2022)
*Streamboat Willie (17 Jan 2024)
====Gaming Streams====
*The Longest Johns Play Sea of Thieves but the servers die and we sing anyway (20 Mar 2018)
*Sea of Thieves? Singing? Splendid! - 09/10/2020
*Four men and a baby. (The baby is our ship) - 10/05/2021
Category:Songs
Category:Traditional
Category:Robbie Songs