Tuesday, December 8, 2009

I'm Popeye the Sailor Man

The Popeye song is rivaled only byThe Ballad of Davy Crocket for the sheer number of playground versions that go around. The version current in my school was:

I'm Popeye the sailor man
I live in a garbage can
Turn up the heater
and get me a wiener
I'm Popeye the Sailor Man

Variations are countless, though he usually lives in either a garbage can or a frying pan. The main variations are in the next two lines. Among those collected:

- I eat all the worms and I spit out the germs
- I like to go swimmin' with bow-legged women
- I turn up the gas and I burn off my ass
- I turned up on the heater and burned off my wiener

Meanwhile, over in ENgland, Iona Opie collected some naughtier ones such as one that could only have come from England:


I'm Popeye the Sailor Man
I live a caravan
I slept with Queen Mary,
Cor Blimey! She's 'airy!
I'm Popeye the Sailor Man!
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14 comments:

  1. michaelgsmithDecember 9, 2009 at 10:54 AM

    Charlotte, NC, circa mid-1980s.

    After "frying pan":

    "I turn on the switches
    and burn off my britches"

    ReplyDelete
  2. AnonymousJanuary 14, 2010 at 8:34 AM

    Line 3, etc.

    "And when I go swimmin', I chase all the wimmin'"

    Thunder Bay, northwestern Ontario, late 1970s.

    ReplyDelete
  3. UnknownJune 26, 2010 at 4:46 AM

    I'm popeye the sailor man
    I live in a caravan
    I eat all the flys
    I spit out there wings
    I popeye the sailor man!!!

    Johannesburg South Africa 1991

    ReplyDelete
  4. AnonymousMay 29, 2011 at 12:06 PM

    I'm Popeye the sailor man
    I live in a caravan
    the girls call me dirty
    'coz I lift up my shirty
    and waggle my watering can

    ReplyDelete
  5. AnonymousJune 27, 2011 at 7:00 PM

    I'm Popeye the sailor man
    And I live in a pot of jam
    It's lovely and sticky
    It sticks to my willy
    I'm Popeye the sailor man

    I'm Popeye the sailor man
    And I live in a caravan
    There's a hole in the middle
    Where I do my piddle

    The Midlands, England, in the mid eighties
    I'm Popeye the sailor man

    ReplyDelete
  6. AnonymousJanuary 24, 2012 at 4:33 PM

    Funny stuff http://www.points2shop.com/?ref=cyleking2756547

    ReplyDelete
  7. AnonymousMarch 25, 2012 at 6:24 AM

    Definitely remember the first 2 lines, but now sure what our next 2 were. I think it might be the swimming with bow legged woman. That was on Long Island in the mid 1970's

    ReplyDelete
  8. AnonymousApril 18, 2012 at 2:39 PM

    I'm Popeye the sailor man
    I live in a caravan
    I open the door
    I poo on the floor
    I'm Popeye the sailor man!

    I'm Popeye the sailor man
    I live in a caravan
    I sleep with my granny
    I tickle her fanny
    I'm Popeye the sailor man!

    The second one is particularly rude if you know the UK definition of the word "fanny".

    South Africa, late 1980s

    ReplyDelete
  9. AnonymousJune 13, 2012 at 11:56 PM

    I'm popeye the sailor man
    I live in the garbage can
    I open the door
    and peepee on the floor
    I'm popeye the sailor man!

    Singapore mid 90's

    ReplyDelete
  10. tylerJune 20, 2012 at 7:44 PM

    Beans beans are good for your heart the more youeat the more you fart the more you fart the better you feel beans beans with every meal

    ReplyDelete
  11. AnonymousDecember 5, 2012 at 4:07 PM

    I'm Popeye the sailor man
    I live in a garbage can
    I just sat down--ouch!--on Oscar the Grouch
    I'm Popeye the sailor man

    ReplyDelete
  12. UnknownNovember 1, 2013 at 7:46 AM

    I'M POPEYE THE SADO MAN,
    I LIVE IN A FRYING PAN
    YOU JUST TURN ON THE GAS AND
    BURN UP MY ASS.
    i'M POPEYE THE SADO MAN!!!
    i'M POPEYE THE SADO MAN
    i LIVE IN A GARBAGE CAN
    I EAT ONLY WORMS AND SPIT OUT THE GERMS,
    I'M POPEYE THE SADO MAN
    i'M POPEYE THE PEDO MAN
    I FUCK UNDERAGED WHEN I CAN
    UNTILL AGE SEVENTEEN
    I'LL MAKE YOU SCREAM!!
    I'M POPEYE THE PEDO MAN

    ReplyDelete
  13. JayFebruary 3, 2015 at 4:27 PM

    This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  14. UnknownMay 5, 2017 at 12:22 PM

    im popeye the sailor man
    i live in a caravan
    theres a hole in the middle where i have a piddle...
    im pop eye the sailor man
    my dad taught me this in the mid 80s in the midlands uk

    ReplyDelete

PLEASE tell us where and when you heard your version (ie, "Chicago, early 1950s). And please be aware that the information may end up in a book sooner or later. Comments are screened; too much spam.