"All For Me Grog" is a traditional folk song, also known as ''Good Brown Ale and Tobacco'', that was originally popular with sailors and later adopted by folk music performers and pub singers. It tells the tale of a man who sells all his possessions, and even his wife, to pay for drink and tobacco. Although the song is effectively about a man's ruin through drink, it is upbeat and celebratory rather than regretful, with the intention to go back to the sea to find a new fortune. It is usually performed as a raucous chorus song. Grog originally referred to a daily ration of rum that used to be given in diluted form to sailors in the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...

. It later came to refer to all types of drink. There is an Australian version of the song called Across the Western Plains. The song was recorded as a single by

The Dubliners The Dubliners were an Folk music of Ireland, Irish folk band founded in Dublin in 1962 as The Ronnie Drew Ballad Group, named after its founding member; they subsequently renamed themselves The Dubliners. The line-up saw many changes in personn ...

which charted at No.10 in Ireland in July 1967. It had previously been recorded by

The Watersons The Watersons were an English folk group from Hull, Yorkshire. They performed mainly traditional songs with little or no accompaniment. Their distinctive sound came from their closely woven harmonies. They have been called the "most famous fam ...

on their eponymous 1966 album and, more recently, by

The Mary Wallopers The Mary Wallopers are a contemporary Irish folk music group based in Dundalk, County Louth, consisting of brothers Charles and Andrew Hendy, and Sean McKenna. Background Charles Hendy has stated that the band's biggest thematic influence has ...

on their eponymous 2022 album. Serbian band

Orthodox Celts Orthodox Celts is a Serbian band formed in Belgrade in 1992 which plays Irish folk music combined with rock elements. Despite their uncharacteristic genre in their home country, the band is one of the top acts of the Serbian rock scene and has ...

recorded a version of the songs for their 1994 self-titled début album.''Orthodox Celts'' at Discogs
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Charts

References

Year of song unknown The Dubliners songs 1967 singles Major Minor Records singles Songwriter unknown {{1960s-single-stub