Blood red roses
SR, RA vocal x 2, 1966
Come sailors listen unto me
Go down, ye blood red roses, go down
A lovely story I'll sing to theee
All ye pinks and posies
Go down, ye blood red roses, go down
A whale is bigger than a mouse
A sailor's lower than a louse
The cook he rolled out all the grub
One split pea in a ten pound tub
In eighteen hundred and fifty seven
We sailed up to the gates of heaven
Saint Peter wouldn't let us in
He sent us back to earth again
From Steve. Sea shanties were popular, and widespread (What shall we do with a drunken sailor; Blow the man down etc.) I don't know where Steve got it from.
About
The only track with Steve in an unacompanied solo.
Sea shanties (work songs for sailors) had a caller (chanteyman) who would sing something to amuse the crew; the chorus - sung by everyone - was to keep time - hauling on Go down, probably.
They say that there were different shanties for different jobs - weighing anchor, raising the sails etc., because there were different rhythms necessary.
A number of versions begin Our boots and shoes are all in pawn, Its flaming drafty round Cape Horn. But there were really no fixed versions - each caller had his version presumably, and could improvise a number of verses if the job took longer than last time. He wouldn't have to worry about people getting bored by the length of the song - it was sung until the work was done.