Why Do They Call It....
Super Moderator
Joined: Jul 2002
Posts: 5,181
From: My BIG ol TURBO-DIESEL
Oh, we sailed down from Alaska on our way to Puget Sound,
The skipper went aloft, he said he'd take a look around.
When he came down, his face looked like he'd smelled an awful smell,
And then he called all hands on deck and we all heard him yell:
"Who hid the halibut on the poop deck?
Who hid the halibut on the poop deck?
I'll knock him through a loop, that silly nincompoop,
Who hid the halibut on the poop deck?"
Then old second mate Kit Hornson says "What is this scuttlebutt?
I think that I'll go up and look just for the halibut."
But he came down and said "Boys, this will be a smelly trip,
Unless we find we find that halibut, we'd better burn the ship.
Who hid the halibut on the poop deck?
Who hid the halibut on the poop deck?
My nose tells me it's there, but I've looked everywhere,
Who hid the halibut on the poop deck?"
Then the cook said to the captain "Sir, before I make the soup,
If you have no objection I'll go snoop around the poop."
The cook was pale when he came down, he headed for his bunk,
He says "I never knew a fish could outperform a skunk."
"Who hid the halibut on the poop deck?
Who hid the halibut on the poop deck?
The whole darn crew was weak from this game of hide and seek,
Who hid the halibut on the poop deck?"
Then up stepped Knut Knutsen, he is tougher than a boot,
He says "I'll find that halibut, or my name ain't Knut."
And fifteen minutes later he had found where it was stored,
And twenty seagulls fainted when he threw it overboard.
Who hid the halibut on the poop deck?
Who hid the halibut on the poop deck?
We never never knew what screwball in the crew
Who had hid the halibut on the poop deck.
The skipper went aloft, he said he'd take a look around.
When he came down, his face looked like he'd smelled an awful smell,
And then he called all hands on deck and we all heard him yell:
"Who hid the halibut on the poop deck?
Who hid the halibut on the poop deck?
I'll knock him through a loop, that silly nincompoop,
Who hid the halibut on the poop deck?"
Then old second mate Kit Hornson says "What is this scuttlebutt?
I think that I'll go up and look just for the halibut."
But he came down and said "Boys, this will be a smelly trip,
Unless we find we find that halibut, we'd better burn the ship.
Who hid the halibut on the poop deck?
Who hid the halibut on the poop deck?
My nose tells me it's there, but I've looked everywhere,
Who hid the halibut on the poop deck?"
Then the cook said to the captain "Sir, before I make the soup,
If you have no objection I'll go snoop around the poop."
The cook was pale when he came down, he headed for his bunk,
He says "I never knew a fish could outperform a skunk."
"Who hid the halibut on the poop deck?
Who hid the halibut on the poop deck?
The whole darn crew was weak from this game of hide and seek,
Who hid the halibut on the poop deck?"
Then up stepped Knut Knutsen, he is tougher than a boot,
He says "I'll find that halibut, or my name ain't Knut."
And fifteen minutes later he had found where it was stored,
And twenty seagulls fainted when he threw it overboard.
Who hid the halibut on the poop deck?
Who hid the halibut on the poop deck?
We never never knew what screwball in the crew
Who had hid the halibut on the poop deck.
Super Moderator
Joined: Jul 2002
Posts: 5,181
From: My BIG ol TURBO-DIESEL
The term "poop deck" refers to the partial deck above the ship's main afterdeck at the stern of the ship. In the days before indoor plumbing, a structure was rigged aft of this deck over the sea for the purpose of relieving oneself. When a ship takes a wave over the stern of a ship it is said to be "pooped." For the purpose of these pages, "poop" means having the inside information. I'm not sure where that particular term originated, possibly the poop deck was also a place to exchange information. If anyone has the straight "poop" on the origin of that last definition, please let me know.
