To lift our spirits during the lockdown the Ukelele Orchestra of Great Britain have been issuing a weekly music video. They are wonderfully fun group of people as can be seen in these offerings, particularly in their choice of music. So far they given us their versions of Kraftwerk’s The Model, Hawkwind’s Silver Machine and Handel’s Arrival of the Queen of Sheba and more. Today I have chosen to share with you their detour into American folk music as they essay a version of Tom Waits’ song Shiver Me Timbers.
The phrase ‘Shiver Me (My) Timbers’ is usually associated with the pirate Long John Silver found in RL Stevenson’s Treasure Island how ever it is impossible to tell whether it was ever used at sea or just in novels. Dan Cossins writing in History Extra provides this explanation.
The word ‘shiver’ is defined in the Oxford English Dictionary as “to break into small fragments or splinters” while the ‘timbers’ refer to the wooden support frames of old sailing ships. So the saying ‘shiver me timbers’ was most likely alluding to the shock of a large wave or cannonball smashing into the ship and causing the hull to shudder or split asunder.
I hope you will enjoy this version and if so check out their other offerings on You Tube.
