The air was taken from a traditional Irish dance and march tune, "Oró Sé do Bheatha 'Bhaile" (Translated as "Óró, you are welcome home") and is in the dorian mode. The same tune has also been used for other songs, notably Ten Little Injuns.
The music was first reproduced in printed form in 1824–25 in Cole’s Selection of Favourite Cotillions published in Baltimore. However, the lyrics were first published in 1891 under the title "What to do with a Drunken Sailor?" Another version from 1921 was subtitled Windlass and Capstan and collected and edited by R. R. Terry.
The song has been widely recorded under a number of titles by a range of performers including Dschinghis Khan, Great Big Sea, the King's Singers, James Last, The Swingle Singers, the Brobdingnagian Bards, the LeperKhanz, Pete Seeger, and Captain Bogg and Salty. It also forms part of a contrapuntal section in the BBC Radio 4 UK Theme by Fritz Spiegl, in which it is played alongside Greensleeves. It has also been recorded by David Thomas and features on the 2006 release Rogue's Gallery, a collection of Pirate Ballads and Sea Shanties inspired by Pirates of the Carribean 2.
Mijn Snape wat doe je !
Niet zo dol op Amerika uit de kluiten gewassen kolonie vol randebielen.
Asperger and proud !