Paul Jones is a song about Captain John Paul Jones and his ship, the USS Bonhomme Richard which he named in honor of Benjamin Franklin's Poor Richard's Almanac. The ship was built in 1765 and loaned from King Louis XVI of France to be used against the British in 1779. Captain Jones's success was a deciding factor in winning French support for the Revolutionary War. Despite winning the Battle of Flamborough Head on September 23, 1779, the heavily damaged ship could not be saved.

The Traditional Ballad Index entry for this song includes a hefty and illuminating collection of notes for this song and its background. It shows up in broadside collections at some time before 1839. Laws classified it as an American song, but it is included in British and Scottish broadside prints as well.

The solemn, patriotic chorus in Killen's version is:

Hurrah! Our country, forever, hurrah!