Motley Words

We’re a group of singers and we’re called the Motley Crew;
We like singing shanties, shanty singing’s what we do;
At local fetes and festivals we always hit the spot,
But there’s one thing that’s stopping us from getting to the top
(All)  To the top

(All) No-one wants a shanty group from Essex.
It really isn’t hard to comprehend,
That other group can boast
They’re from the Cornish Coast,
But all we’ve got is Clacton and Sarfend (Cor blimey)
We’re sure that if we didn’t come from Essex,
Our popularity would spread for miles,
We’d be living out the dream
Up on that silver screen
Being played by Jonny Depp or Harry Styles

Our repertoire’s extensive and our harmonies sublime,
We always sing with passion – and we mostly sing in time;
Promoters get excited when they hear our dulcet tones,
But when they find out where we’re from they soon hang up their phones;
(All)  Up their phones

(All) No-one wants a shanty group from Essex,
‘Cause Essex is the home of Essex Man;
We don’t drive Ford Mondeos, our wives don’t wear stilettos
And only one of us has got a van (It’s white one);
We’re friends with lots of fishermen in Essex
But now’s the time to bid them all good-day,
For life will be much fairer on the Cornish Riviera,
Celebrity will surely come our way.

But life in Cornwall isn’t great, just hear the locals moan,
You can’t afford a cottage – ev’ry one’s a second home,
With beaches full of surfers you can’t paddle in the sea,
And the local chip shop’s owned by a TV celebrity,
(All) Celebrity

(All) After all we think we’ll stay in Essex
And pass over the chance to be celebs,
Cornish Cider’s just for wimps –
Essex Ale is what we drinks
And if we want a pasty we can go to Greggs
For us it seems the only way is Essex,
And that’s the way it’s always meant to be;
For we’ve loyal fans a-plenty
In Weeley and Great Bentley
So we’re staying put in good old Brightlingsea
(All) Forget Port Isaac
We’re staying put in good old Brightlingsea!

Copyright © 2025 Melanie Bridle.