Jack Was Every Inch a Sailor
'Twas twenty-five or thirty years since Jack first saw the light,
He came into this world of woe one dark and stormy night;
He was born on board his father's ship as she was lying to,
'Bout twenty-five or thirty miles southeast of Baccalieu.
CHORUS:
Oh, Jack was every inch a sailor,
Five and twenty years a whaler;
Jack was every inch a sailor,
He was born upon the bright blue sea.
When Jack grew up to be a man he went to the Labrador,
He fished in Indian Harbour where his father fished before;
On his returning in the fog he met a heavy gale,
And Jack was swept into the sea and swallowed by a whale.
Oh, the whale went straight for Baffin Bay, 'bout ninety knots an hour,
And every time he'd blow a spray he'd send it in a shower;
Oh, now, says Jack unto himself, I must see what he's about,
He caught the whale all by the tail and turned him inside out.
John Kanakanaka
I thought I heard the old man say
Resp: John Kanaka-naka too-rye-ay
Today, today is a holiday
Resp: John Kanaka-naka too-rye-ay
Chorus
Too-rye-ay, oh, too-rye-ay
John Kanaka-naka too-rye-ay
We'll work tomorrow but no work today
For tomorrow from London we'll sail away
We're bound away for 'Frisco Bay
We're bound away at the break of day
We're bound away 'round Cape Horn
Ye'll wish to the devil you'd never been born
It's a Yankee Ship with a Yankee crew
And we're the boys for to pull her through
It's a Yankee ship with a Yankee mate
Got a heavy hand, so pull yer weight
The bosun said, "Before yer through
Ye'll curse yer mother fer havin' you."
We're Olympia born and Olympia bred
Strong in the arm but thick in the head
The Jolly Roving Tar
(Great Big Sea Version)
Ships may come and ships may go
As long as the sea does roll
Each sailor lad just like his dad
He loves the flowing bowl
A trip on shore he does adore
With a girl who's nice and round
When the money's gone
It's the same old song
"Get up Jack! John, sit down!"
CHORUS:
Come along, come along,
Me jolly great boys
There's lots of grog in the jar
We'll plough the briny ocean
With the jolly roving tar
When Jack comes in, it's then he'll steer
To some old boarding house
They'll welcome him with rum and gin
And feed him on pork scouse
He'll lend, spend and he'll not offend
Till he's lyin' drunk on the ground
When the money's gone
It's the same old song
"Get up Jack! John, sit down!"
Jack, he then, oh then he'll sail
Bound down for Newfoundland
All the ladies fair in Placentia there
They love that sailor man
He'll go to shore out on a tear
And he'll buy some girl a gown
When the money's gone
It's the same old song
"Get up Jack! John, sit down!"
When Jack gets old and weatherbeat
Too old to roam about
They'll let him stop in some rum shop
Till eight bells calls him out
Then he'll raise his eyes up to the skies
Sayin' "Boys, we're homeward bound."
When the money's gone
It's the same old song
"Get up Jack! John, sit down!"