A Sailor Went To Sea (Sea-Sea-Sea)
This recording was made by Iona Opie in Birmingham in 1972. ‘A Sailor Went to Sea, Sea, Sea’ is a clapping game found on virtually every playground across the country and belongs to what Roud refers to as the ‘core repetoire’ of clapping games. The song began as ‘My Father Went to Sea’ before becoming more widely known as ‘A Sailor Went to Sea’. After this opening line, it is common for children to sing ‘a sailor went to chop, chop, chop, chop’ and ‘knee, knee, knee, knee’ before ending with ‘sea, chop, knee’. However, children frequently offer their own substitutions, using the song to explore different lyrical combinations and rhymes.
"A Sailor Went To Sea" Lyrics
A sailor went to sea, sea, sea,
To see what he could see, see, see.
But all that he could see, see, see
Was the bottom of the deep blue sea, sea, sea.
A sailor went to chop, chop, chop,
To see what he could chop, chop, chop.
But all that he could chop, chop, chop
Was the bottom of the deep blue chop, chop, chop.
Sea, sea, sea.
A sailor went to knee, knee, knee,
To see what he could knee, knee, knee,
But all that he could knee, knee, knee,
Was the bottom of the deep blue knee, knee, knee.
Chop, chop, chop.
Sea, sea, sea.
A sailor went to snap, snap, snap,
To see what he could snap, snap, snap.
But all that he could snap, snap, snap
Was the bottom of the deep blue snap, snap, snap.
Knee, knee, knee.
chop, chop, chopp.
Sea, sea, sea.
A sailor went to jump, jump, jump,
To see what he could jump, jump, jump.
But all that he could jump, jump, jump
Was the bottom of the deep blue jump, jump, jump.
Snap, snap, snap.
Knee, knee, knee.
chop, chop, chopp.
Sea, sea, sea.
To see what he could see, see, see.
But all that he could see, see, see
Was the bottom of the deep blue sea, sea, sea.
A sailor went to chop, chop, chop,
To see what he could chop, chop, chop.
But all that he could chop, chop, chop
Was the bottom of the deep blue chop, chop, chop.
Sea, sea, sea.
A sailor went to knee, knee, knee,
To see what he could knee, knee, knee,
But all that he could knee, knee, knee,
Was the bottom of the deep blue knee, knee, knee.
Chop, chop, chop.
Sea, sea, sea.
A sailor went to snap, snap, snap,
To see what he could snap, snap, snap.
But all that he could snap, snap, snap
Was the bottom of the deep blue snap, snap, snap.
Knee, knee, knee.
chop, chop, chopp.
Sea, sea, sea.
A sailor went to jump, jump, jump,
To see what he could jump, jump, jump.
But all that he could jump, jump, jump
Was the bottom of the deep blue jump, jump, jump.
Snap, snap, snap.
Knee, knee, knee.
chop, chop, chopp.
Sea, sea, sea.