The Good Ship Kangaroo
Traditional:
courtesy of www.SailorSongs.com
O, once I was a waterman and lived at home at ease,
And now I am a mariner and plough the angry seas.
I thought I'd like seafaring life, so bid my love adieu,
And shipp'd as cook and steward boys, on board the Kangaroo.
My love she was no foolish girl, her age it was two score,
My love was not a spinster, she'd been married twice before;
And they could not say it was her wealth That stole my heart away.
For she was a laundry starcher at three-and-six a day.
Oh think of me! Oh think of me! She mournfully did say,
When you are in a foreign land, three thousand miles away;
And take this lucky farthing, 'Twill make you bear in mind
The loving, faithful, trusting heart you leave in tears behind.
Cheer up! Cheer up! my own true love, don't weep so bitterly,
But she sobbed and sighed and choked and cried and couldn't say goodbye.
I won't be gone so very long, maybe a month or two,
And when I do come back again, of course I'll marry you.
Our vessel it was homeward bound from many a foreign shore.
And many a foreign present unto my love I bore;
There were tortoises from Teneriffe and toys from Timbuctoo,
A Chinese rat and a Bengal cat and a Bombay cockatoo.
Paid off, I sought her dwelling in the suburbs of the town,
An ancient dame upon a line was hanging out a gown.
Where is my love? she's married, sir, about six months ago,
To a man who drives a hardware van for Johnny Fox and Co.
Farewell to Dixon's soap suds from the famous brand called Crown,
To Reckitt's Blue, well known to you, and Crean's Scouring Brown;
I'll seek some far and distant clime, I can no longer stay,
For my heart is now so shattered I must live on China tay.
The author of this website has put a lot of time and effort into gathering the greatest collection of sea shanties for the world to enjoy - There are songs that have been to sung to a job of work at sea for many, many years and collecting them has been a great endeavour. - Roger Chartier has made the effort out of his own interest and the requests that he has gotten to do this work from fellow musicians who wanted a good source of sea shanties to draw on and learn from. He has been told that for this effort he is a remarkable man.
