De cap'n's in de pilot house ringin' de bell,
Ch: Who's on the way boys, who's on de way?
'N' de mate's down 'atween decks giv'n de niggas hell!
Ch: Tell me, whar yo' goin'?

When I sign on de cap'n say,
"On dis fine ship, no wo'k all play."

De mate he say "no wo'k on de ship,
Jes' lay aroun' an' enjoy de trip."

De mate he say "one trip up de lake,
Jes' set yo' up like a plutocrate."

Ah'd rudd'r be daid 'n' a'lyin' in de san',
Dan make a'nudda trip on de "Old Black Sam."

Her smokestack's black 'n' her whis'l's brown,
'N' I wish de Lawd ah'd a'stay'd in town.

Ah don' min' wo'kin' by de light o' de moon,
If de cap'n giv' us a half-hour noon.

"Git along, der, Mose, yo' feet ain't stuck,
Jes' hump yo' back an' push dat truck."

"Git along, der, Mose, push dat truck,
By 'n' by yo' dead, 'n' yo' have good luck."

Takes tons o' coppa' t' fill dat hol',
"Step along, der, nigga, damn yo' soul."

It's wo'k all night an' wo'k all day,
An' all yo' get am not half pay.

De mate say, "Sam, I'se raise yo' pay,
Yo' now git fifty cents a day!"

Roll 'em up dat long gangplank,
It make yo' thin 'n' lean 'n' lank.

City folks, dey's gon' to bed,
But we push coppa till we's dead.

De cap'n he give us a *tub o' suds,
It burn yo' belly 'n' rot yo' guts.

Jes' one drink fum de cap'n's tin,
'N' it makes yo' feel like commit'n sin.

Black boy, tick'l dat ol' banjo,
It lif' yo' heels an' make 'em go.

It make me think o' ma Liza Lou,
When she hear music, man! What she do!

Lake Superior's col'er 'n' ice,
Fall in jes' once, freeze all yo' lice.

Lake Superior's big an' rough,
'N' fo' dis nigga, one trip's enough.

It mus' be hours pas' dinna time,
'N' boss, ah's sho' da eat'n kind.

De Ward's boun' up, de Moran's boun' down,
'N' de John M. Nichol am hawd agroun'.

De Wm. H. Stevens is a'lyin' roun' de ben',
'N' all she's doin' is a'killin' good men.

Now I'se goin' back to Detrite,
'N' no more wo'k both day 'n' night.

'N' ah's goin' way down to Mobile
Whar white man bring de nigga's meal.

'N' ah's goin' down to Baltimore,
'N ah's ain't goin' to wo'k at all no more.

Come roll the cotton down, my boys
Ch: Roll the cotton down;
Come roll the cotton down, my boys
Ch: O roll the cotton down!

Come hither, all you negro boys,
Come hither, all you negro boys

A dollar a day is a white man's pay,
A dollar a day is a white man's pay

Ten dollars a day is a black man's pay
Ten dollars a day is a black man's pay

The white man's pay is rather high,
The white man's pay is rather high

The black man's pay is rather low,
The black man's pay is rather low

Around Cape Horn we're bound to go,
Around Cape Horn we're bound to go

So stretch it aft and start a song,
So stretch it aft and start a song

'Twas of a lofty ship, boys, and she put out to sea,
She goes by the name of the Golden Vanity
She's likely to be taken by a Tukish roving canoe,
As she sails along the Lowlands
Ch: Lowlands, as she sails along the Lowlands low!

Then up and spake our little cabin boy,
Saying "What will you give me if I will them destroy ?
If I will them destroy, send them floating o'er the tide,
And sink them in the Lowlands ?"

"O the man that them destroys," the captain then replied,
"A fortune he shall have and my daughter to his bride.
A fortune he shall have and my daughter beside
If he'll sink them in the Lowlands."

The boy bent his breast and away he jumped in,
He swam until he came to the Turkish galley-in;
He took an auger with him for to bore through her skin,
And sink her in the Lowlands.

And some were playing cards and some were playing dice;
He bored three holes once, he bored three holes twice,
The water flow-ed in, and it dazzled their eyes,
As they sunk in the Lowlands.

The boy swam back first upon the starboard side,
Crying "Captain, pick me up, for I'm wearied with the tide,
O Captain, pick me up, for I'm wearied with the tide,
And I'm sinking in the Lowlands."

"I will not pick you up, you can climb up her side,
I will not pick you up," the master replied,
"I will kill you, I will shoot you, send you floating with the tide,
And sink you in the Lowlands."

The boy swam round unto the larboard side,
Crying, "Messmates, pick me up, for I'm wearied with the tide,
O messmates, pick me up, for I'm wearied with the tide,
And I'm sinking in the Lowlands."

His messmates picked him up, and on the deck he died.
They sewed him in his hammock which was both long and wide,
And they hove him in the sea, sent him floating with the tide,
And sunk him in the Lowlands.