I made a life of the ocean Mending the boot soles of fishermen Counting my ribs on my good hand Sewing the salt in my skin Traded my last for the odd bark And took a wife without captain's leave Who gave me three sons and a daughter at sea I buried in Argentine With Buenos Aires behind me I refit a sloop and I fell on the wind Without a companion beside me I sailed with a pulse in my limbs No man that takes to the sea life Is fit to live a life on the shore And I set sail once more from New Jersey Port To sail this vessel down