English translation

Poor sailor coming back from the wars - All is fine!
(Repeat first line in each verse as chorus)
One foot shod, the other nude, "Poor sailor, from whence come ye?" - All is fine! "Madame, I have come home from the wars - All is fine! He drank and he sang, But the lovely hostess cried - All is fine! The gallant sailor drinks the wine - All is fine! He drank and he sang, But the lovely hostess cried - All is fine! "What is the matter with you, lovely hostess - All is fine! Are you sorry for your white wine That the sailor is drinking" - All is fine! "It is not my wine that I regret - All is fine! It's because I've lost my husband, Mister, he looked like you" - All is fine! "Ah, tell me, my lovely hostess - All is fine! Didn't you have two children by him - And now you have four" - All is fine! "When they wrote and told me the news - All is fine! That he was dead and buried, I married again" - All is fine! The gallant sailor drank his wine - All is fine! Without thanks and sorrowful, Went back to his ship - All is fine!

Hugill traces this forebitter to the days of Louis XIII (1610-43), a time when France was engaged in wars with Spain and Holland. It tells the classic tale of a young soldier returned from sea to find his sweetheart has married another.