When I was a serving maid, down in Drury Lane,
My master was so kind to me, my mistress was the same.
Then came a sailor, home from the sea,
And he was the cause of all my misery.
Bell-bottom trousers, coat of navy blue,
He can climb the rigging as his daddy used to do.
He asked for a candle to light him up to bed,
He asked for a pillow to place beneath his head;
And I, like a silly girl, thinking it no harm,
Jumped into the sailor's bed to keep the sailor warm.
Early in the morning, before the break of day,
He handed me a five-pound note and this to me did say:
"Maybe you'll have a daughter, maybe you'll have a song,
Take this, my darling, for the damage I have done."
"If you have a daughter, bounce her on your knee,
But if you have a song send the rascal out to sea.
Singing bell-bottom trousers, coat of navy blue,
He'll climb the rigging as his daddy used to do."