As I walked up of London street
A press-gang there I did meet:
They asked me if I'd join the fleet
And sail in a man-o'-war, boys.

Pray, brother shipmates, tell me true
What sort of usage they give you,
That I may know before I go
On board of a man-o'-war, boys.

Why the sort of usage they'll give you
Is plenty of grog and bacca too:
That's the usage they'll give you
On board of a man-o'-war, boys.

But when I went, to my surprise
All that they told me was shocking lies:
There was a row and a bloody old row,
On board of a man-o'-war, boys.

The first thing they did they took me in hand,
They flogged me with a tar of a strand:
They flogged me till I could not stand,
On board of a man-o'-war, boys.

Now I was married and my wife's name was Gray,
'Twas she that led me to shocking delay:
'Twas she that caused me to go away,
On board of a man-o'-war, boys.

So when I get my foot on shore,
Those Irish girls to see once more,
I'll never go to sea any more,
On board of a man-o'-war, boys.