Of all the explanations in this regard I’ve found, the best worded version, in my opinion, is from Hank Cramer, in which, for this song, he wrote – “While ashore, sailors did like to go out drinking, usually in groups.

“So help me Bob, I’m Bully in the Alley” is the one most often misinterpreted with a wide range of explanations… However, some search into 19th century vernacular usage of American English would sometimes show the word “bully” to be one of many slang words to equal “drunk” or “shitfaced”, but in a “good” fashion, such as “I’m feeling good”, or, “I’m feeling no pain” it has been pointed out to me that Teddy Roosevelt used “Bully!” to mean “splendid!” and that Mark Twain had written “That’s Bully” to mean “that’s fine” or “top notch”, and “I’m bully” to mean… Well, you get the point. Its origins are somewhat obscure due to various theories about the lyrics, sometimes placing the song as a Caribbean island source. A really popular shanty although sung more like a forebitter or a music hall song by most performers.

Assassins creed 4 shanties