This song was recorded by Tom Lewis on Surfacing! (1987) under the title "A Sailor Ain't a Sailor (Last Shanty)".
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Well, me father always told me, when I was just a lad, A sailor's life was very hard, the food was always bad. But now I've joined the Navy, I'm aboard a Man o' War And now I find a sailor ain't a sailor any more.
Don't haul on the rope. Don't climb up the mast. If you see a sailing ship it might be your last. Get your civvies ready for another run ashore. A sailor ain't a sailor, ain't a sailor any more.
We've nearly got a mess. He says we have it soft. It wasn't like this in his day when he was up aloft. We like our bunks and sleeping bags, but what's a hammock for? Swinging on the deckhead or lying on the floor?
They gave us engines that first went up and down. Then with more technology the engines went around. We know of steam and diesel but what's a mainyard for? A stoker ain't a stoker with a shovel any more.
They gave us an Aldis lamp so we could do it right. They gave us a radio to signal day and night. We know our codes and ciphers, but what's a semaphore? The bunting tosser doesn't toss the bunting any more.
Two cans of beer a day and that's your bleeding lot. Now we get an extra one because they've stopped the tot. So we'll put on our civvy clothes and find a pub ashore. A sailor's still a sailor, just like he was before.