Tilbury Town | The Longest Johns 

Thanks to everyone who’s recommended songs for us to try! Please let us know what you want to hear next in the comments below! Also, please do like, share and subscribe and all that…

I think Northwest Passage needs a studio cover. I absolutely love the song, and I believe JD has a soft spot for it as well

Please do a proper version of Barrett’s Privateers. You guys are the best

Suggest you sing the next song “Where Did You Sleep Last Night?”.

This shanty is a REALLY interesting part of maritime history, because it references the OCL-- (OCL)--which operated from 1965-1987 when they were bought by P&O (now owned by Maersk) OCL was one of the first large Container Shipping concerns, and was instrumental in developing logistics, inventory-management, and electronic manifest systems for container shipping. So this song represents a VERY specific period of 22 years in 20th Century Maritime History...

Lyrics for all in Need: Well the first I saw a TEU (Rolling up and rolling down) I wondered where the hell they stored the crew To go (rolling down the river) [continues throughout verses] {Chorus} (Hey!) Rolling up and rolling down We'll all get drunk in Tilbury Town Twenty-four hours to turn around And go rolling down the river Well I used to be a rigger and I worked like hell But now I'm working for the OCL {Chorus} Well cargo it comes in TEUs A 20-foot box, boys, filled with booze {Chorus} There's a Tilbury girl called Kettle Jane She's hot on the boil and off again {Chorus} Well she's got a mate called Teapot Anne She gets well brewed, she likes her man {Chorus} Well Tilbury girls go 'round in pairs You won't catch them, boys, unawares {Chorus} Well we're the boys to kick her through To hell with the channel and the TEU (Let's go down the river) {Chorus 2x}

Coming up next : A moody, couch-based Antiguan Graveyard or Hearts of Oak would be awesome!​ The energy you all bring, particularly in these new versions is a joy to listen to! Thanks Johns! Stay Adequate!

I think Paddy West, Shawnee Town or Sailor's Prayer deserve their own recordings. They are all most adequate in your livestreams!

This is an absolutely amazing song. My favorite is from the streams and it's Eli the Barrow Boy

I think you guys would do fabulous versions of Scarborough Fair and My Mother Told Me (Song of the Vikings)!

As a fellow tilb myself was a shock to hear our town mentioned let alone sung in such a graceful and amazing song/shanty

perhaps Barret's Privateers, Leaving of Liverpool, or Sixteen Tons? an amazing cover as always, very adequate!

HYPE barrett's privateers and paddy west when?

I feel like you guys could make literally any song an amazing sea shanty, no exceptions.

So glad this song finally got a studio version!

The happy noise I just made seeing this is coming...! 😀

I'm tossing my vote in again for a proper "Barrett's" or "Wreck of the Dandenong".

Some of the most underrated artists ever! Love your work! ❤️

I was right to be hyped! This was great! I think I need to learn the lyrics properly, because this is gonna live in my head now, and I want to sing along. And oh, Roll Northumbria would be lovely. Andy singing that is painfully beautiful, it always brings me close to tears. The good kind of tears.

Asking again for The Chemical Worker's Song (Process Man) when time allows :) Love your covers and originals. Awesome work as always :)

*LYRICS - Tilbury Town - The Longest Johns (Jack Forbes)* Well the first I saw a TEU,
(Rollin’ up and rollin’ down)
I wondered where the hell they stored the crew
to go rolling down the river. (Hey!) 
Rollin’ up and rollin’ down,
we’ll all get drunk in Tilbury Town.
Twenty-four hours to turn around,
and go rollin’ down the river!

Well I used to be a rigger and I worked like hell, (Rollin’ up and rollin’ down)
but now I'm working for the OCL to go rollin’ down the river. (Hey!)

Rollin’ up and rollin’ down,
we’ll all get drunk in Tilbury Town.
Twenty-four hours to turn around,
and go rollin’ down the river!

Well cargo it comes in TEUs, (Rollin’ up and rollin’ down)
a 20-foot box, boys filled with booze, to go rollin’ down the river. (Hey!)

Rollin’ up and rollin’ down,
we’ll all get drunk in Tilbury Town.
Twenty-four hours to turn around,
and go rollin’ down the river!

There's a Tilbury girl called Kettle Jane, (Rollin’ up and rollin’ down)
pot’s on the boil and off again to go rollin’ down the river.

Rollin’ up and rollin’ down,
we’ll all get drunk in Tilbury Town.
Twenty-four hours to turn around,
and go rollin’ down the river!

Well she's got a mate called Teapot Anne, (Rollin’ up and rollin’ down)
she gets well brewed, she likes her man to go rollin’ down the river. (Hey!)

Rollin’ up and rollin’ down,
we’ll all get drunk in Tilbury Town.
Twenty-four hours to turn around,
and go rollin’ down the river!

Well Tilbury girls go 'round in pairs, (Rollin’ up and rollin’ down)
you won't catch them, boys, unawares and go rollin’ down the river. (Hey!)

Rollin’ up and rollin’ down,
we’ll all get drunk in Tilbury Town.
Twenty-four hours to turn around,
and go rollin’ down the river!

Well we're the boys to kick her through, (Rollin’ up and rollin’ down)
to hell with the channel and the TEU. Let's go down the river! (Hey!) Rollin’ up and rollin’ down,
we’ll all get drunk in Tilbury Town.
Twenty-four hours to turn around,
and go rollin’ down the river! Rollin’ up and rollin’ down,
we’ll all get drunk in Tilbury Town.
Twenty-four hours to turn around,
and go rollin’ down the river. Hey!

woooooo!!!! Tilbury town hype! Also throwing a suggestion for eli the barrow boy (if its at all possible)

Please bring this to Spotify, I desperately need to sing along to this on the way to school every morning

Voting once again for “Nebraska.” Loved it from the chill streams

Woot! Fantastic! Im glad there's a dedicated video for this! I don't think there's anyone else who sings this song like this!

That was such a tune! Extremely adequate! Would really love to hear y’all sing Fish in the Sea next :)

Ooh, much hype! Though for some reason my brain started singing Fire Marengo when I tried to make it think Tilbury town, so I think that means I'd like that one too. Just give me all the Andy songs.. (ok, yeah, I will admit I do love his voice quite a bit) Also, the thumbnail is fantastic

You lads would absolutely kill "When the Lusitania went down"!

I would love to see a cover of Shores of Botany Bay. One of my favs! Love these covers!

I have listened to this way too much

Once again throwing “You’ll Never Leave Harlan Alive” in the ring. Longshot, but I’ll still suggest it lol

I love the thought that even after all these years they're still singing shanties around the container ports.

This is a gem for England and for the music industry

I would love to hear either Fire Merango or Shawnee Town in a studio quality video like this! I am loving these, keep it up!

Newest TLJ addiction 😊

That was a super adequate video! I'd absolutely love to hear what you all could do with 16 Tons. A cool bassy song will always be close to my heart.

Going in again for Angelina Baker or Lazy John!! However, the recent livestream reminded me how much I enjoy Corncrake, so a studio version of that would be delightfully adequate! 💕

i'd honestly love to hear the chemical worker song from you guys, as its one of my personal favorites

Would absolutely love to hear someone cover Tom Roush's the Green Mountaineer.

Rattlin' Bog! (The kid's request.) Seriously, thanks y'all for helping to make folk music a second gen car sing along favorite. (Hearing wee voices belt out Old Maui driving down the highway is amazing!)

Northwest Passage please!! Saw it live at your Montreal show and it was the greatest moment of my life

This was amazing! Especially loved the harmonies in the chorus! My request is again for Man of Constant Sorrow :)

I'd love to hear Shallow Brown next quite a lot, as sung in the new decade stream in 2020, Andy's high harmonies were so perfect with the bass etc

this is an actual banger

I love your old bloke picking on a banjo you do on stream, that would be cool

Hell yeah! Now I shall patiently wait for it to show up on Spotify, because this is a certified jam.

THIS COVER SLAPS!

I was so happy to wake up to a notification of a Tilbury Town video! Would love to hear Antiguan Graveyard at some point, if that's an option. Saw you singing it on stream once and I loved it.

Paddy West with the banjo me ladddies! Love the live stream versions! ^^

I need this as an actual song I could listen to on apple or Spotify

either 'leave her johnny' or 'Over the Hills'... or both

Never gets old

I don't think anyone suggested it yet, but worth giving a shot: beautiful "Sinking of I'm alone".

Kind of fun to listen to, knowing Tilbury itself. Much of that heritage is gone as it still is home to the Port of London with all the periodic updates (including the memorial the Windrush, which arrived there) a working port has, but somehow its familiar all the same.

Northwest Passage would be amazing for a studio cover

The Cruel Wars has always been one of my favorites, and a Longest Johns cover would make my year!

I absolutely love everybody's energy in this video. It's hard to bring that kind of enthusiasm whilst sitting on a couch, but you guys really brought life to the song. Especially Robbie (1:44)!

Oh my god my comment was featured! 😱 You guys are amazing as always!

The energy on this one was off the chart!! The Wreck of the Athens Queen, please good sirs.

I would love a cover of " For Narmer " and " Sleeping in the cold below " both from warframe. I loved the cover of " we all lift together " and i really wanted to see a cover of the other songs of that beloved game! And nice cover of tilbury town! I was very hyped for that (Sorry if i write something wrong. I learned english by my own so it's pretty trash)

Amazing rendition! Now I will impatiently wait for an album release with this recording!

Couple Canadian gems: Blackfly... River driver...

in my opinion this is the best sea shanty out there. Especially this version. Because sea shanties were made to be sort of "pace keeping" songs to work in tune with this one sounds the catchiest and probably works good at serving as a shanty. I don't know how you 4 make sea shanties sound so good but keep it up

Absolutely adequate as always! I guess I’ll repeat my previous suggestion of either Green Fields of France or Over the Hills and Far Away from Sharpe.

One of my Favourites is " Rolling Down To Old Maui". Love to hear your version.

The contrast between JD's bass and Robbie's alto is just magical. I will never get tired of listening to this. Please release this officially, next album?

I come from the next town on from Tilbury, and I love this.

Definitely need a Mining for Gold/Chemical Workers! And an amazing one for you guys to try exploring would be Fiddler's Green, pretty please!

Roll boys roll!

I shall again try my luck! This one is quite exotic, but it shall bring me to tears if sang by you gentlemen! Away down south in the land of the Amazon rainforest, my beloved Brazil, towards It's beautiful coast, 'twas born a small short shant, "Marinheiro Só." It differs a lot from a normal shanty's rhythm, and it is sung in Portuguese. But a go from your own style and even mixing in English would make me and my fellow countrymen friends overjoyed! Have an awesome week, lads!

YES!!! FINALLY I HAVE BEEN WAITING SO LONG FOR THIS SONG!

Merci pour vos chants ! J'adorerais vous entendre rajeunir "Jean François de Nantes" Thanks for the shanty, i'd like to hear french shanty "Jean François de Nantes" covered by you guys.

I really enjoy singing along to these recordings. It's really helping me refine my voice in ways that songs without lyrics can't really do - and I need that! My voice got gravelly and rough when I wasn't singing and talking much over the last few years, but this helps me so much. Thank you for posting, TLJ, you are more than adequate!

I'd love to hear y'all doing a studio version of Northwest Passage!! Fantastic work as always, gents.

A few years ago I was at the Great Yarmouth festival, I was passing the singaround tent when the guy running it came out and dragged me in, because he was running out of singers. I was struggling through the Marco Polo when suddenly halfway through the chorus just exploded, the Longest Johns had just wandered in, I will never forget it, have you ever done all of the Marco Polo?

I'd love to hear you guys cover Barrett's Privateers!

A fantastic song to Fight, or row a boat to. Helluva good job boys.

I didn't know how much I needed this until I saw the notification! as for a suggestion, Man of Constant Sorrow would be sick

One of my abpslute faves

Great work as always!! I suggest Fire Marengo, Joli Rogue, or fish in the sea

Ahh so happy this got its own video, I love this song. I’d love an official vid for mining for gold/chemical workers’ song

The only words from this song I knew were "Rolling up and rolling down" repeated. I am so happy to find the full version. 😜

Oh, I love the energy in this performance - it's so fun! Thank you!!

The energy of this perfomance is otherwordly! You, guys, are amazing!

you guys are just the best

I feel like this would be an excellent format for an official Wreck of the Dandenong.

Antiguan graveyard or A sailor ain't a sailor. Always great songs you guys cover

Wooohooo, ton of serotonin for free! Thanks, your beautiful voices and rythm make my day everytime I listen to it.

I would love to hear you sing Oh Danny Boy please!

I would love to hear 'star of the county down' again. JD and Andy's impromptu performance on an old stream still sticks in my mind :)

i love how it constantly cuts from calm andy being composed and normal to robbie swinging around a tankard with a mad glint in his eye. adequate!

What a banger.

Phenomenal as always lads. Gonna keep requesting Fare Thee Well until it happens

You guys should go My son John, I freakin' love it!!!

Born and raised in Tilbury Town

My Mother Told Me. Please! JD's bass underlining Robbie's high notes and Andy's and Dave's harmonies - perfect. Although I'll still hear 'galley with two doors'...

You know what would be amazing? Take me to funky town! It sounded great and it's just funny

I been wanting this for so long, THNAK YOUUUUUU

Gotta do I Wanna Be In The Calvary. Would love to hear y’all do that one.

Yeeeessss, been wanting a clean version without the SoT background.