January 2026: Three Men of Gotham

Submitted by Judy Cook

I found this curious little song in The Pocket Book of Poems and Songs for the Open Air, compiled by Edward Thomas, 1929. It made me think of the nursery rhyme from my childhood:

Three wise men of Gotham went to sea in a bowl
If the bowl had been stronger, my song would be longer.

And the song itself seemed the kind of drinking song that might come after the time for boisterous songs of revelry was past, and the time for boozy philosophizing had come.

The tune is listed as “Courtiers,” and the words by Thomas Love Peacock. Peacock was an English novelist and poet who was a close friend of Percy Bysshe Shelley. The tune “Courtiers” was also used in The Beggars’ Opera and can be found in William Chappell’s 1859 Popular Music of the Olden Times.

Listen to Judy’s recording of “Three Men of Gotham:”

Lyrics

Seamen three, what men be ye?
Gotham’s three wise men be we.
Whither in your boat so free?
To rake the moon from out the sea.
The bowl goes trim, the moon doth shine,
And our ballast is old wine,
And your ballast is old wine.

Who art thou, so fast adrift?
I am he they call Old Care.
Here on board we will thee lift.
No: I may not enter there.
Wherefore so? ’Tis Jove’s decree,
In a bowl Care may not be. 
In a bowl Care may not be.

Fear ye not the waves that roll?
No: in charm’ed bowl we swim.
What the charm that floats the bowl?
Water may not pass the brim.
The bowl goes trim, the moon doth shine,
And our ballast is old wine,
And your ballast is old wine.

Judy Cook is an author, entertainer, and folk singer. She has been living in Oberlin, Ohio, with her husband Dennis since 2013. She began performing in 1990 (actually since about 1955), and is known for her repertoire and storytelling ability in song. Judy has one book and several CDs. Lyrics and recordings of her songs are on her website. You may reach her at [email protected].