REUBEN RANZO
(as sung by A.L.Lloyd)
Oh, poor old Reuben Ranzo,
Ranzo, me boys, Ranzo;
Poor old Reuben Ranzo,
Ranzo, me boys, Ranzo.
Oh, Ranzo was no sailor,
So he shipped aboard a whaler,
Ranzo was no beauty,
He couldn't do his duty,
Because he was so dirty,
They gave him five-and-thirty,
The captain's daughter Suzy,
She begged her dad for mercy,
She gave him wine and water,
And a bit more than she oughter,
He got his first mate's papers,
He's a terror to the whaler,
He's known wherever them whalefish blow,
He's the meanest skipper on the go,
(from miriam berg's folksong collection)