Maggie May is a fine, uproarious belter of a sea-song of which I learned to sing the chorus whilst in the Royal Navy in the fifties and sixties. I have fond memories of it being sung in 23 Petty Officers Mess, H.M.S. Victorious, in the Fleet canteens of Gibraltar and Singapore and in the small bars in the village of Sembawang outside the Singapore Naval Base.
We often sang
Brian Kelly's version of it in the
Idle Fellows. The version I sing myself is to be found in
Rugby Songs published by Sphere Books Ltd. The song is about a notorious lady of the streets who robbed poor innocent sailors before finally being apprehended and then deported to Botany Bay.