Drunken Sailor — Mandolin Tab

Mandolin tab and sheet music with synced audio · Key of Em · 120 BPM · 4/4 time · Sea shanty · Beginner

Chords used in this arrangement: Em, D, Bm.

"Drunken Sailor" turns has irish roots. The melody is shared with the traditional Irish folk song Óró Sé Do Bheatha 'Bhaile, and that connection makes sense when you learn that the sailors on the busy Liverpool-to-New York packet ships were almost entirely Irish, carrying their tunes aboard with them. The song was already being hollered on whaling ships out of New London, Connecticut by 1839, and back on working vessels it was a "walk-away" shanty. The crew literally marched down the deck hauling rope in time with the beat, which explains why it locks in so naturally at 120 BPM.

This page includes mandolin tablature, standard music notation, and a chord chart — printable as PDF and playable in sync with the original recording. Change the key, slow the tempo down, and loop the bars you want to practise.