Boney Was a Warrior
A short-drag shanty packed with swagger, Boney Was a Warrior tells the rise and fall of Napoleon in a series of bold, rhythmic bursts.
Sung on both British and American ships, it was used for heavy hauling—especially when the crew needed one last burst of grit to sweat up the halyards. Our version keeps the history and adds a bit of bite, just as it should be.
Boney was a warrior
A-way, hay-yah!
A warrior and a terrier
Jean Francois!
Boney went to school in France
A-way, hay-yah!
Learned to make the Russians dance
Jean Francois!
Boney fought the Russians
A-way, hay-yah!
The Austrians and the Prussians.
Jean Francois!
Boney marched on Moscow
A-way, hay-yah!
He lost his army in the snow
Jean Francois!
Moscow was a-blazing
A-way, hay-yah!
And Boney was a-raging.
Jean Francois!
Boney went to Elba
A-way, hay-yah!
Boney he came back again.
Jean Francois!
We met him in Trafalgar Bay,
A-way, hay-yah!
And blew Carried his top-mast away.
Jean Francois!
Boney went to Waterloo
A-way, hay-yah!
There he got his overthrow.
Jean Francois!
Then they took him off again
A-way, hay-yah!
Aboard the Billy Ruff-ian.
Jean Francois!
He went to Saint Helena,
A-way, hay-yah!
There he was a prisoner,
Jean Francois!
Boney broke his heart and died
A-way, hay-yah!
Away in Saint Helena
Jean Francois!
Boney was a warrior
A-way, hay-yah!
A warrior a failure
Jean Francois!
