There was a ship of Rio

There was a ship of Rio
Sail'd out into the blue,
And nine and ninety monkeys
Were all her jovial crew.

From bo'sun to the cabin boy,
From quarter to caboose,
There weren't a stitch of calico
To breech 'em tight or loose;

From spar to deck, from deck to keel,
From barnacle to shroud,
There weren't one pair of reach-me-downs
To all that jabbering crowd.

But wasn't it a gladsome sight,
When roar'd the deep-sea gales,
To see them reef her fore and aft,
A-swinging by their tails!

Oh, wasn't it a gladsome sight,
When glassy calm did come,
To see them squatting tailor-wise
Around a keg of rum!

Oh, wasn't it a gladsome sight,
When in she sail'd to land,
To see them all a-scampering skip
For nuts across the sand!

by Walter de la Mare (1873-1956) , from Peacock Pie: A Book of Rhymes, published 1913

Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive)

by Edward Allam , "The ship of Rio", published <<1956.
by Mark Andrews (1875-1939) , "The ship of Rio", published 1932 [voice and piano], from Music of Many Lands and Peoples
by Violet Balestreri Archer (1913-) , "The ship of Rio", <<1952.
by (Edward) Benjamin Britten (1913-1976) , "The ship of Rio", 1932, note: early school-song
by Vance Campbell , "Nine and ninety monkeys", published <<1940.
by Theodore Ward Chanler (1902-1961) , "The Ship of Rio", published 1940, from Four Rhymes from Peacock Pie, no. 1.
by Bainbridge Crist (1883-1969) , "The ship of Rio", published <<1940.
by Brian Blyth Daubney (1929-) , "The ship of Rio", published 1958. [unison voices and piano]
by Dorothy Dushkin , "The ship of Rio", published 1955 [SSA chorus, woodwind trio or piano], from Three Songs for Women's Voices and Woodwind Trio or Piano
by Cecil Armstrong Gibbs (1889-1960) , "The ship of Rio", 1932, published 1933. [voice and piano]
by Terence Greaves , "The ship of Rio", published 1965 [two-part chorus and piano], from Follow my leader
by Archibald Jacob , "The ship of Rio", published <<1940. [voice and piano]
by Frederick Keel (1871-1954) , "The Ship of Rio"
by Anthony Francis Dominic Milner (1925-) , "The ship of Rio", published 1959 [SSA chorus a cappella], from Peacock Pie, no. ?
by George Norman Peterkin (1886-?) , "Nine and ninety monkeys", published <<1940. [voice and piano]
by Michael Rose (1934-) , "The ship of Rio", published 1967. [unison female or children's voices and piano]
by Edwin M. Smith (1938-) , "The ship of Rio", published 1936. [unison female or boys' voices and piano]

Added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.

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