Under the Moldy Elk

Los Ojos in Jemez Springs

The walls have ears—and rattlesnakes! (Los Ojos)

[Sea shanty, origin unknown]

moldy elk

Under the moldy elk, and over the bounding main
some things are so terrible, you never can explain
and when the wind do blow, with icy rain and snow
it’s under the moldy elk, and over the side we go

Chorus:
Under the moldy
under the moldy
under the moldy elk
Under the moldy
under the moldy
under the moldy elk
Arrrrrrr

Under the moldy elk, and in the blackest night
no one on the crew, would e’er turn on a light
’cause when you down below, and no one else can know
it’s under the moldy elk, and over the side we go

Chorus:
Under the moldy
under the moldy
under the moldy elk
Under the moldy
under the moldy
under the moldy elk
Arrrrrrr

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John Hamilton Farr lives at 7,000 feet in Ranchos de Taos, New Mexico, U.S.A. As New York Times best-selling author James C. Moore tells it, John is “a man attuned to the world who sees it differently than you and I and writes about it with a language and a vision of life that is impossible to ignore.” This JHFARR.COM site is the master writing archive. To email John, please see CONTACT INFO on About page. For a complete list of all John’s writing, photography, NFTs, and social media links, please visit JHFARR.ART  

  • kaye August 30, 2013, 6:04 AM

    Thanks for the laughter this fine morn…with coffee and the bunnies out to play hide n seek with the cats! Could you write a shanty for Callie the wonder cat? I’ll be cackling all day about this one….

    • JHF August 30, 2013, 7:08 AM

      Hi, Kaye! Glad you like it. I have no idea where it came from.

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