{"id":46289,"date":"2025-08-27T12:27:22","date_gmt":"2025-08-27T12:27:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/idea.membrane.com\/songwriter\/?p=46289"},"modified":"2025-08-27T12:27:22","modified_gmt":"2025-08-27T12:27:22","slug":"swab-the-poop-deck","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kingarthur.com\/songwriter\/2025\/08\/27\/swab-the-poop-deck\/","title":{"rendered":"Swab the Poop Deck"},"content":{"rendered":"

Swab-the-Poop-Deck.mp3<\/a>
\nSwab-the-Poop-Deck.mp4<\/a>
\nSwab-the-Poop-Deck-Reggae.mp3<\/a>
\nSwab-the-Poop-Deck-Reggae.mp4<\/a>
\nSwab-the-Poop-Deck-intro.mp3<\/a><\/p>\n

[Verse 1]
\nCan’t you see
\n(The seaweed)
\nThe decree
\n(Do the deed)<\/p>\n

[Chorus]
\nGuess it’s time I’m
\nSwabbing the poop deck
\nThe voyage dim and grim
\n(What the heck?)<\/p>\n

[Bridge]
\nSwab the poop deck!
\n(Way, hay, and up she rises)
\nThere are no surprises
\n(Way, hay, and up she rises)<\/p>\n

[Verse 2]
\nIf there’s a fire
\n(Situation turns dire)
\nYes, indeed
\n(Do the deed)<\/p>\n

[Chorus]
\nGuess it’s time I’m
\nSwabbing the poop deck
\nThe voyage dim and grim
\n(What the heck?)<\/p>\n

[Bridge]
\nSwab the poop deck!
\n(Way, hay, and up she rises)
\nThere are no surprises
\n(Way, hay, and up she rises)<\/p>\n

[Chorus]
\nGuess it’s time I’m
\nSwabbing the poop deck
\nThe voyage dim and grim
\n(What the heck?)<\/p>\n

[Outro]
\nSwab the poop deck!
\n(Way, hay, and up she rises)
\nThere are no surprises
\n(Way, hay, and up she rises)<\/p>\n

ABOUT THE SONG
\nThe song is a metaphor for social responsibility.<\/p>\n

“Swab the poop deck” means to mop the highest, rearmost deck of a ship. This instruction was given to keep the wooden deck damp to prevent it from drying out, rotting, and becoming a fire hazard, especially around gunpowder. It also served to clean away salt and seaweed from the deck and keep the crew occupied on long voyages.<\/p>\n

Why was the poop deck swabbed?
\nPreventing fire: In an era of cannons and gunpowder, a damp deck could reduce the risk of fire.
\nPreserving the wood: Keeping the wooden planks moist helped them to swell, which sealed the seams and prevented water from seeping into the lower decks. It also helped to prevent the wood from drying out and becoming brittle.
\nFighting fungus: Saltwater helps to prevent fungus and mold from growing on the wooden planks.
\nCleaning: Regular swabbing cleaned away dried salt, dirt, and seaweed that collected on the deck.
\nDiscipline and boredom: On long voyages, swabbing the deck was a task that kept sailors busy and prevented idleness and boredom.<\/p>\n

From the album “Aardvark<\/a>“<\/strong><\/p>\n

Also found on the album “Reggae Segue<\/a>“<\/h3>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Swab-the-Poop-Deck.mp3 Swab-the-Poop-Deck.mp4 Swab-the-Poop-Deck-Reggae.mp3 Swab-the-Poop-Deck-Reggae.mp4 Swab-the-Poop-Deck-intro.mp3 [Verse 1] Can’t you see (The seaweed) The decree (Do the deed) [Chorus] Guess it’s time I’m Swabbing the poop deck The voyage dim and grim (What the heck?) [Bridge] Swab the poop deck! (Way, hay, and up she rises) There are no surprises (Way, hay, and up she rises) […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[9,14,17,1],"tags":[4161,4153],"class_list":["post-46289","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-daniel","category-lyrics","category-narley-marley-reggae","category-uncategorized","tag-aardvark","tag-reggae-segue"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kingarthur.com\/songwriter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46289","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kingarthur.com\/songwriter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kingarthur.com\/songwriter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kingarthur.com\/songwriter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kingarthur.com\/songwriter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=46289"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/kingarthur.com\/songwriter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46289\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":46300,"href":"https:\/\/kingarthur.com\/songwriter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46289\/revisions\/46300"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kingarthur.com\/songwriter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=46289"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kingarthur.com\/songwriter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=46289"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kingarthur.com\/songwriter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=46289"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}