{title: Bully in the Alley}
{artist: Traditional}
{key: Dm}
{tempo: 95}
{difficulty: intermediate}
{tags: shanty, halyard, traditional}
{video: youtube:7CBB21EVj5w}
{credit: 'Bully in the Alley' (Windrose Sea Shanty - Official Lyric Video). Vocals by Sean Dagher (the shantyman behind the Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag shanties). Traditional halyard shanty (PD composition); arrangement (c) Kraken Express / Windrose.}

{c: Traditional halyard / hauling shanty, possibly Caribbean origin. Public domain.}
{c: "Bully" originally meant "fine, splendid" — the singer is bragging about a girl named Sally. "Shinbone Alley" was a real waterfront alley in Bermuda or possibly Barbados.}

{c: Chorus (start with this — establish it for the crowd)}
[Dm]Way, hey, [C]bully in the [Dm]alley
[F]Way, hey, [C]bully [Dm]down
[Dm]Way, hey, [C]bully in the [Dm]alley
[F]Sally [C]is the [Dm]girl that I love dear-ly

{c: Verse 1}
[Dm]Sally is the girl that I [C]love [Dm]dear-ly
[F]Sally is the [C]girl that I [Dm]spliced near-ly
[Dm]Sally is the girl that I [C]love [Dm]dear-ly
[F]Seven [C]long [Dm]years I court-ed Sally

{c: Chorus}

{c: Verse 2}
[Dm]Sally got a baby, [C]baby got the [Dm]measles
[F]Sally got a [C]baby, [Dm]baby got the croup
[Dm]Sally got a baby, [C]baby got the [Dm]rickets
[F]Seven [C]long [Dm]years I'll be a-comin' for Sally

{c: Chorus}

{c: Verse 3}
[Dm]I'll leave my Sal and [C]go a-[Dm]sailing
[F]I'll leave my [C]Sal and [Dm]go to sea
[Dm]I'll leave my Sal and [C]go a-[Dm]sailing
[F]But Sal-ly's [C]still the [Dm]girl that I love dear-ly

{c: Final chorus — drag the tempo back, big finish}

{c: PRACTICE NOTES}
{c: This song is in D MINOR (or D Dorian if you prefer). The chord pattern Dm-C-F-Dm is the modal-shanty workhorse.}
{c: Halyard groove: heavy emphasis on beat 1 (the pull). Slower tempo than the capstan shanties — around 80-95 BPM.}
{c: This song is rough, not pretty. Sing it like you mean it.}
{c: For mandolin: chop on 2 and 4. The closed Dm chop chord is at frets 5/7/7/8 — slide the same shape to F (frets 5/8 area) and back.}