traditional

Have you heard about the big strong man?
He lives in a caravan
Have you heard about the Jeffery Johnson fight?
Oh Lord, what a hell of a night!
You can take all the heavyweights you got
We got a lad who can fight the whole lot
He used to work here as a doorman
Now he’s off the fight George Foreman

He’s my brother Sylveste (WHAT’S HE GOT?)
A row of forty medals on his chest (BIG CHEST!)
He killed fifty bad men in the west
He knows no rest
Bigger the man, Hell’s fire, don’t push, just shove
Plenty of room for you and me

He’s got an arm like a leg (LADY’S LEG!)
And a punch that would sink a battleship (BIG SHIP!)
It takes all the army and the navy to knock the wind from Sylveste

He thought he’d take a trip to Italy
And he thought that he’d go by sea
He jumped off the harbor in New York
And he swam like a goddamn shark
He saw the Lusitania in distress (OH NO!)
He shoved the Lusitania up his dress (WOO HOO!)
He drank all the water in the sea
And then he walked all the way to Italy

He was my brother Sylveste (WHAT’S HE GOT?)
A row of forty medals on his chest (BIG CHEST!)
He killed fifty bad men in the west
He knows no rest
Bigger the man, Hell’s fire, don’t push, just shove
Plenty of room for you and me

He’s got an arm like a leg (LADY’S LEG!)
And a punch that would sink a battleship (BIG SHIP!)
It takes all the army and the navy to knock the wind from Sylveste

He thought he’d take a trip to old Japan
And he thought he’d take a big brass band
He played every instrument you got
Oh Lord, he played the whole lot
Now the church bells will ring (DING DONG!)
And the church choir will sing (AHHHHHH!)
And they all come out to give their best
To the big strong man Sylveste

He was my brother Sylveste (WHAT’S HE GOT?)
A row of forty medals on his chest (BIG CHEST!)
He killed fifty bad men in the west
He knows no rest
Bigger the man, Hell’s fire, don’t push, just shove
Plenty of room for you and me

We perform this song in the key of D.

Obviously, this song is from the early 20th century. The original end of the first verse is “He used to work here in the belfry, now he’s off to fight Jack Dempsey” but I heard a version that updated the line to a late 20th century boxer, and I liked it.