Early on a Saturday morning
Sometime after eight o'clock
I received a vile warning
It all came on as a bit of a shock
There were crabs all around me
Hundred thousands; well quite a lot
They'd been put in water; left them through the night
Now that they'd died they had started to rot
Wooah-ooh-oh-ooh
I scrubbed...
I scrubbed the...
Wooah-ooh-oh-ooh
I scrubbed the crabs that killed Shef
The stenches were quite amazing
Still I had a job to do
Later on I heard some people complaining
But the terrible smell just grew and grew
Eventually they had finished boiling
A crowd began to gather round
Well, we took them out and put them under the counter
And we sold them off; 28 pence a pound
Wooah-ooh-oh-ooh
I scrubbed...
I scrubbed the...
Wooah-ooh-oh-ooh
I scrubbed the crabs that killed Shef
I didn't mean to kill them
Just did as I was told
All those women and children DEAD
Because of the crabs that we'd sold
I'm not feeling cool in my head
I can't believe there're so many dead
(??)
Aarrgghh!
Wooah-ooh-oh-ooh
I scrubbed...
I scrubbed the...
Wooah-ooh-oh-ooh
I scrubbed the crabs that killed Sheffield
I scrubbed the crabs that killed Sheffield
I scrubbed the crabs that killed Sheffield
I scrubbed the crabs that killed Sheffield
This explanation is from a History of Pulp (Disco-very, 1995):
One day the crabs were delivered early and left overnight in water. By the morning they'd already started rotting and everyone was complaining about the smell. A few had been sold before the health inspector condemned them all.