<P> Although the song's lyrics vary, they usually contain some variant of the question, "What shall we do with a drunken sailor, early in the morning?" In some styles of performance, each successive verse suggests a method of sobering or punishing the drunken sailor . In other styles, further questions are asked and answered about different people . </P> <P> The song is No. 322 in the Roud Folk Song Index . </P> <P> The air of the song, in the Dorian mode and in duple march rhythm, has been compared to the style of a bagpipe melody . The authorship and origin of "Drunken Sailor" are unknown . However, the melody does sound quite similar to the chorus of the traditional Irish ballad "Óró sé do bheatha abhaile", and a possible adaptation may be suspected . </P> <P> The first published description of the shanty is found in an account of an 1839 whaling voyage out of New London, Connecticut to the Pacific Ocean . It was used as an example of a song that was, "performed with very good effect when there is a long line of men hauling together". The tune was noted, along with these lyrics: </P>

What fo you do with a drunken sailor