Re: handsome cabin boy

[Doug Alan <nessus@athena.mit.edu>]

> Would someone please explain this song to me-- especially the
> point of view... do it change somewhere in the song?

>    Scott D. Yelich                           scott@cs.odu.edu  [128.82.8.1] 

"The Handsome Cabin Boy" is a traditional sea chantey.  It tells the
story of a young lass who wants to see the world.  She disguises
herself as a lad and signs aboard a ship as the captain's cabin boy.
The captain soon discovers that he has a cabin girl, rather than a
cabin boy and takes full advantage of the opportunity.  The lass
becomes pregnant, but she doesn't realize what is happening to her,
and when she goes into labour, she thinks that she is going to die.
The ship's doctor, however, quickly figures out the situation and
tells her not to worry, she's merely having a baby.  The sailors all
swear that none of them is the father.  The captain's wife tells the
captain that though she had the hots for the handsome cabin boy, it
would be unlikely for her to have gotten the lass in this state, so it
must have been him, and she wants a divorce.  The end.

|>oug