On the Old Black Pearl we're bound for Kiel To see how the German girls look and feel Salty crew, we're hungry too, When we land, well, any girl will do, Hi-ho on the Old Black Pearl
ChorusCross the Western Ocean on the Old Black Pearl And I still miss my Newport Girl Skin snow-white and her hair coal black Gonna love her to death if I ever get back, Hi-ho on the Old Black Pearl
Our first mate he's a mean young man And he learned his fighting in Vietnam, Chews up glass, spits out like mush, And he brushes his teeth with an old wire brush, Hi-ho on the Old Black Pearl Mister Famine is the name of our cook And he learned his cookin' 'tween the covers of a book Comes from down in Charleston town, And a loaf of his bread weighs sixteen pounds, Hi-ho on the Old Black Pearl Well our Captain comes from Philadelphia, He's mean as hell so stay out of his way. He has his martinis at a quarter to four And he pulls his pud behind the cabin door, Hi-ho on the Old Black Pearl The Captain's dog, Willie's his name I'll be damned if I know why he came, Won't eat his food from out of a can, But if you give him a chance, he'll eat your hand, Hi-ho on the Old Black Pearl Sixteen hundred miles or more Before we reach the English shore, When we land on the Isle of Wight, We're gonna drink dark ale and make love all night, Hi-ho on the Old Black Pearl

In the tradition of many homesick-sailor songs, the protagonist yearns to see his love.