The Boys All Shouted "Hey, Ho!"

[Stephen Whiteside]

The Boys All Shouted "Hey, ho!"

I walked in the sand at the edge of the land.
The boys all shouted, "Hey, ho!"

I wiggled my toes. The little one froze.
The boys all shouted, "Hey, ho!"

I planted my soles in a couple of holes.
The boys all shouted, "Hey, ho!"

I tasted the breeze on my knobbly knees.
The boys all shouted, "Hey, ho!"

Up to my waist by the surf all encased.
The boys all shouted, "Hey, ho!"

My head was soon wet. There was more to come yet.
The boys all shouted, "Hey, ho!"

Thrashing like mills, my arms beat the chills.
The boys all shouted, "Hey, ho!"

To the west, to the east, like a ravaging beast.
The boys all shouted, "Hey, ho!"

Back to the sand at the edge of the land.
The boys all shouted, "Hey, ho!"

A guttural howl wrapped up in a towel.
The boys all shouted, "Hooooo!"

[Heather]

I love that Stephen...just one question, who are "the boys"?

Heather

[Stephen Whiteside]

Good question, Heather. Not sure I can answer it for you. I just like the phrase.

One of the blokes at the folk club on Tuesday night threw me the challenge of writing a poem that the audience could participate it, so I wrote this as a 'call and response'. I'll see if I can get the audience to chant along at the right time.

Do you know "The Song of the Volga Boatmen"? I remember learning it at school. It was a song the Russian fishermen used to sing to help them to keep time as they hauled on the ropes that pulled the fishing boats out of the water. I had that in mind as I wrote this, though the scenario is very different, of course.

[warooa]

I've known a few vulgar boatmen.