When I was a little boy as little as a boy could be
when I was a little boy my mother always told me
Never sail around the world and never leave your luck behind
Never sail around the world stay down where you belong boy

When I was a little lad as little as a lad could be
When I was a little lad my father always told me
Never live your life at ease and never let your deal go down
Never live your life at ease stay down where you belong boy

When I was a busy clerk as busy as a clerk could be
When I was a busy clerk my master always told me
Never loaf through life at peace and never settle down to it
Never loaf through life at peace stay down where you belong boy

Now I am a foreign man as foreign as a man could be
Now I am a foreign man a stranger in my own life
I never roamed around the world I never let my deal go down
I never spent my life at ease don’t know where I belong boy