As I was a-walkin'
All by the seashore,
The wind it did whistle,
The water did roar.

As I sat a-musing
Myself on the grass,
Who should come by me
But a young Indian lass.

She came and sat by me,
Took hold of my hand,
And said, "You're a stranger
And in a strange land.

But if you will follow,
You're welcome to come
And dwell in the cottage
That I call my home."

The sun was past sinking
Far over the sea,
As I wandered along with
My little Mohee.

She asked me to marry
And offered her hand
Saying, "Father's the chieftain
All over this land.

My father's the chieftain
And ruler can be,
I'm his only daughter,
My name is Mohee."

"Oh, no, my dear maiden,
That never can be,
I have a dear sweetheart
In my own country.

I will not forsake her,
I know she loves me;
Her heart is as true
As any Mohee."

The last time I saw her
She knelt on the sand;
Just as my boat passed her
She waved me her hand.

Saying, "When you get over
With the girl that you love,
Remember the Mohee
In the mountains above."

And when I have landed
With the girl that I love,
Both friends and relations
Gathered 'round me once more.

I gazed all about me,
Not one did I see,
That did really compare
With my little Mohee.

The girl I had trusted
Proved untrue to me,
So I'll turn my courses
Back over the sea.

I'll turn my courses,
Backwards I'll flee,
I'll go spend my days with
My little Mohee.

From An American Sailor's Treasury by Frank Shay (1991)