De way dem fellers jaws
Of de State, an' Gawd, an' Laws,
Dey'd give ya room ta t'ink dey was de t'ree;
Ya'd say dere breath was legal,
An' dat dey was Gawd's own ekal,
An' dey wasn't born somehow like you an' me!

It's talk, talk, talk,
An' den dey walks de chalk,
But it's never quite de same as wot they do!
It's "feller men an' friends"—
But believe me, bo, dat ends!
When dey gits alone it's me a' pluckin' you!

When dem guys is on dere legs
Say, bo, dey'll walk on eggs—
Ya'd t'ink dere folks had growed 'em under glass!
But believe me, tain't de same
When dere back into de game —
It's grab de stuff, an' do it rough, an' don't let nuttin' pass!

It's talk, talk, talk,
An' den dey walks de chalk,
But it's never quite de same as wot they do!
It's "feller men an' friends"—
But believe me, bo, dat ends!
When dey gits alone it's me a' pluckin' you!

Say, let 'em t'row dat bluff
If dey ain't got cards enuff,
Let 'em shuffle Gawd an' glory in de pack!
If ya know, ya'll understand
Dat when any guy's a man —
Well, bo, dere ain't much change a'comin' back!

It's talk, talk, talk,
An' den dey walks de chalk,
But it's never quite de same as wot they do!
It's "feller men an' friends"—
But believe me, bo, dat ends!
When dey gits alone it's me a' pluckin' you!

The sea! the sea! the open sea!
The blue, the fresh, the ever free!
Without a mark, without a bound,
It runneth the earth's wide regions round;
It plays with the clouds; it mocks the skies,
Or like a cradled creature lies.
 
I'm on the sea! I'm on the sea!
I am where I would ever be;
With the blue above and the blue below,
And silence wheresoe'er I go.
If a storm should come and awake the deep
What matter? I shall ride and sleep.
 
I love, oh, how I love to ride
On the fierce, foaming, bursting tide,
When every mad wave drowns the moon,
Or whistles aloud his tempest tune,
And tells how goeth the world below,
And why the southwest blasts do blow.
 
I never was on the dull, tame shore,
But I loved the great sea more and more,
And back I flew to her billowy breast,
Like a bird that seeketh its mother's nest;
And a mother she was, and is, to me,
For I was born on the open sea!
 
I've lived, since then, in calm and strife,
Full fifty summers a sailor's life,
With wealth to spend and a power to range,
But never have sought nor sighed for change;
And Death, whenever he comes to me,
Shall come on the wild, unbounded sea.