"When The Boat Comes In" (or "Dance Ti Thy Daddy") is a traditional English

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

 folk

Folk music

Folk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....

 song, originating in Northumberland

Northumberland

Northumberland is the northernmost ceremonial county and a unitary district in North East England. For Eurostat purposes Northumberland is a NUTS 3 region and is one of three boroughs or unitary districts that comprise the "Northumberland and Tyne and Wear" NUTS 2 region...

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It was popularised as the theme tune to the 1970s BBC

BBC

The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...

 drama serial When The Boat Comes In

When the Boat Comes In

When the Boat Comes In is a British television period-drama produced by the BBC between 1976 and 1981.The series stars James Bolam as Jack Ford, a First World War veteran who returns to his poverty-stricken town of Gallowshield in the North East of England in the 1920s.The memorable traditional...

in an arrangement by the composer David Fanshawe

David Fanshawe

David Arthur Fanshawe was an English composer, ethnomusicologist and self-styled explorer. His work is situated at the crossroads of traditional and modern music. His best-known composition is the 1972 choral work African Sanctus.- Life :Fanshawe was born in Paignton in Devon in 1942...

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The song was also used in the TV advertisement for Young's fish, Sea to Plate campaign.

Dance to your Daddy, my little laddy

Dance to your Daddy, my little man

Thou shalt have a fish and thou shalt have a fin

Thou shalt have a codlin when the boat comes in

Thou shalt have haddock baked in a pan

Dance to your Daddy, my little man



Dance to your Daddy, my little laddie

Dance to your Daddy, my little man

When thou art a young boy, you must sing and play

Go along the shore and cast your shells away

Build yourself a castle, watch the tide roll in

Dance to your Daddy, my little man.



Dance to your Daddy, my little laddie

Dance to your Daddy, my little man

When thou art a young man, go unto the trades

Find yourself a skill, and wages you’ll be paid

Then with all your wages, buy yourself some land

Dance to your Daddy, my little man



Dance to your Daddy, my little laddie

Dance to your Daddy, my little man

When thou art a man and go to take a wife

Find yourself a lass and love her all your life

She shall be your wife and thou shalt be her man

Dance to your Daddy, my little man



Dance to your Daddy, my little laddie

Dance to your Daddy, my little man

When thou art an old man, father to a son

Sing to him the old songs, sing of all you've done

Pass along the old ways, then let his song begin

Dance to your Daddy, my little man

Alternative Lyrics

The theme to the TV series, sung by Alex Glasgow

Alex Glasgow

Alex Glasgow was a singer/songwriter from Low Fell, Gateshead, England. He was educated at Gateshead Grammar School where he founded the Caprians, a choir that, 55 years on and still counting, is thriving. He graduated in German at the University of Leeds...

, was released as a BBC single. The lyrics from the TV series differ significantly from those above. The series also used a pared down version of the lyrics as printed below.

Come here me little Jackie

Now av smoked me baccy

Let wer hav a cracky

Till the boat comes in



Dance ti' thy daddy, sing ti' thy mammy,

Dance ti' thy daddy, ti' thy mammy sing;

Thou shall hev a fishy on a little dishy,

Thou shall hev a fishy when the boat comes in.



Here's thy mother humming,

Like a canny woman;

Yonder comes thy father,

Drunk---he cannot stand.



Dance ti' thy daddy, sing ti' thy mammy,

Dance ti' thy daddy, ti' thy mammy sing;

Thou shall hev a fishy on a little dishy,

Thou shall hev a haddock when the boat comes in.



Our Tommy's always fuddling,

He's so fond of ale,

But he's kind to me,

I hope he'll never fail.



Dance ti' thy daddy, sing ti' thy mammy,

Dance ti' thy daddy, ti' thy mammy sing;

Thou shall hev a fishy on a little dishy,

Thou shall hev a bloater when the boat comes in



I like a drop mysel',

When I can get it sly,

And thou, my bonny bairn,

Will lik't as well as I.



Dance ti' thy daddy, sing ti' thy mammy,

Dance ti' thy daddy, ti' thy mammy sing;

Thou shall hev a fishy on a little dishy,

Thou shall hev a mackerel when the boat comes in.



May we get a drop,

Oft as we stand in need;

And weel may the keel row

That brings the bairns their bread.



Dance ti' thy daddy, sing ti' thy mammy,

Dance ti' thy daddy, ti' thy mammy sing;

Thou shall hev a fishy on a little dishy,

Thou shall hev a salmon when the boat comes in.