Poor Old Man - Wareham Whalers

This sea shanty, also known as "The Dead Horse Shanty" or "Poor Old Horse," originated as part of a ceremony that used to take place on longer voyages at the end of the first month at sea, called "paying off the dead horse". When a boarding master supplied a sailor to a ship, he received an advance from the sailor's pay, so the sailor had to work for some weeks or months before he began to earn money for himself.

This was known as "working off the dead horse." To celebrate, after thirty days, sailors would sometimes make a horse-figure from rags and tar, hoist it to the yardarm, cut it loose and let it drift away on the sea, a ritual known as "burying the dead horse." A good captain would break out a ration of rum at this time. As the ceremony gradually died out the song was put to use as a regular halyard shanty.

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