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Oh, ships will come and ships will go,
As long as waves do roll;
Each sailor lad, likewise his dad,
Will love the flowing bowl.
Afloat or ashore, they do adore,
A lass that's plump and roun';
When the money's gone 'tis the same old song,
Get up, Jack — John, sit down.
Heigh, laddie, Ho, laddie, swing the capstan 'round,
When the money's gone, 'tis the same old song,
Get up, Jack — John, sit down.
An old sheath-knife and sou'wester
Are staunch old friends at night;
A glass o' grog, in rain or fog,
Will steer a sailor right.
From old Brazil to Bunker Hill,
We scatter dollars roun';
When the money's gone, 'tis the same old song,
Get up, Jack — John, sit down.
Heigh, laddie, Ho, laddie, swing the capstan 'round,
When the money's gone, 'tis the same old song,
Get up, Jack — John, sit down.
Go take a cruise on a man-o'-war
To China or Japan;
In Asia there are maidens fair,
All love a sailor man;
While Tom and Joe pa la ver oh,
And buy the girls a gown;
When the money's gone, 'tis the same old song,
Get up, Jack — John, sit down.
Heigh, laddie, Ho, laddie, swing the capstan 'round,
When the money's gone, 'tis the same old song,
Get up, Jack — John, sit down.
When Jack's ashore, oh, then he steers,
To some old boarding house;
He's welcomed in with rum and gin,
And fed on pork and souse;
He'll spend and lend, and ne'er offend,
And lay drunk on the groun';
When the money's gone, 'tis the same old song,
Get up, Jack — John, sit down.
Heigh, laddie, Ho, laddie, swing the capstan 'round,
When the money's gone, 'tis the same old song,
Get up, Jack — John, sit down.
When Jack is old and weather-beat,
Too weak to roust about;
In some rum shop they let him stop,
At eight bells he's turned out;
He cries, he cries up to the skies,
I'll soon be homeward bound;
For my money's gone, 'tis the same old song,
Get up, Jack — John, sit down.
Note: Premiered in the play Old Lavender in September, 1885.
From the Dictionary of Newfoundland English:
Sou'wester — a fisherman's waterproof hat with a broad brim, elongated and sloping at the back, with side flaps tied under the chin; also south-wester, southwester, cape ann, lincoln, oil hat.
