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Oh, who is the lad for a lass to wed,
To be true and to never fail her?
You may trust in me, for I’ve sailed the seas,
There’s none like a true born sailor.
For his heart is free as the wind and the sea
And he’s got a touch of the briny;
His heart is light, his laughter so bright,
Oh, he makes life so sun shiny.
Chorus:
He may sail on board of a man-of-war
Or aboard of an Arctic Whaler
But it’s all the same,
If Jack’s his name,
For he’s got the heart of a sailor!
Now he may be so oft at sea
Which saves a deal of bother
For husbands and wives don’t always agree
As they should with one another
And if he flirts with one or two
In the ports of every nation
You may all do the same without any blame
Which is surely a consolation. (CHO)
So lassies all, when he comes to you
And declares his adoration,
Your love confess, and answer "Yes!"
Without any hesitation;
For he's the lad for a lassie's hand,
To be true and never fail her,
And of all the husbands in this land,
There's none like a true born sailor. (CHO)
By Stephen Adams, circa 1891
Published in Heart Songs Dear to the American People
Edited by Joe Mitchell Chapple, Boston,
The Chapple Publishing Company, Ltd., 1909, p. 112-113.
1. Now who's the man for a lass to wed,
To be true and never fail her?
You may trust to me, for I've sail'd the sea,
There's none like an honest sailor!
For his thoughts are free as the wind or sea,
And he's got such a dash of the briny,
His heart is light and his laugh so bright,
He makes life all sunshiny.
Refrain:
He may sail in a smack or a man o'war,
Or aboard of an Arctic whaler,
But it's all the same, If Jack's his name,
And he's got the heart of a sailor.
2. Then he has to be so oft at sea,
Which saves a deal of bother,
For husbands and wives don't always agree
As they should with one another.
And if he flirts with one or two
In the ports of ev'ry nation,
You can all do the same without any blame,
Which is surely a consolation.
Refrain.
3. So lasses all, when he comes to you
And declares his adoration,
Your love confess, and answer "yes"
Without any hesitation.
For he's the man for a lassie's hand,
To be true and never fail her,
And of all the husbands in the land
There's none like a true born sailor.
Refrain.
Original lyrics are from the Choral Public Domain Library (www.cpdl.org) and shared under a Free Art License.