In terms of chords and melody, What Shall We Do with the Drunken Sailor has complexity on par with the typical song, having near-average scores in Melodic Complexity and Chord-Bass Melody and below-average scores in Chord Complexity, Chord-Melody Tension and Chord Progression Novelty.
What Shall We Do with the Drunken Sailor is written in the key of G Dorian. According to the Theorytab database, it is the 5th most popular key among Dorian keys and the 34th most popular among all keys. The G Dorian scale is similar to the G Minor scale except that its 6th note is a half step higher (E). Chord progressions in Dorian have a characteristic sound due to the major quality of the chord built on the 4th scale degree. See the G Dorian Cheat Sheet for popular chords, chord progressions, downloadable midi files and more!