I've changed the melody for the first four lines of each verse and tweaked the words a bit more (copy and paste into WORD/TIMES/12 to line up chords):

Poem by Cicely Fox Smith
From Sailor Town: Sea Songs and Ballads, © 1919, pp. 120-122.
Adapted by Charlie Ipcar 3/23/08
Key: C (7/F)

THE TRAVELLER


Chorus:

G------C---------------------G------------------C----------------------G
Well, I ain't got folks an' I ain't got money, ain't got nothing at all,
--------C----------------------G-------------------D----------D7---G
Just a queer old thirst that keeps me movin', movin' on till I fall.


G---------------------------D-----------------------C--------------------G
I've loops o' string in the place o' buttons, I've mostly holes for a shirt;
----C------------------------G-------------------D---------------------D7
My boots are bust an' my hat's a goner, I'm gritty with dust an' dirt;
---------G-------------------D-------------------C----------------------G
But I'm sittin' here on this wharf a-watchin' the China ships go forth,
---------C----------------G-----------------------D----------------D7------G
An' the little black tugs come a-glidin' with timber booms from the North;
C----------------------G---------------C---------------------G
Sittin' and seein' the broad Pacific break at my feet in foam –
C---------------------------G-----------------D-----------------D7--G
Me that was born with a taste for travel, miles an' miles from home. (CHO)


Now they sent me away when I was a nipper to the Board School in the slums,
An' some of them kids was good at spellin', some at figurin' sums;
But whether I went or whether I didn't, they learned me nothing at all,
For I'd be watchin' the flies a-walkin' all over the maps on the wall;
Strollin' over the lakes an' mountains, over the plains an' seas, –
As if they was born with a taste for travel – just the same as me! (CHO)

If I'd been born a rich man's son with lots o' money to burn,
It wouldn't ha' gone for marble mansions an' oriental urns;
I'd be sailin' in rakish yachts or rolling in plush Pullman cars, –
I've seen 'em yachts a-lyin' at anchor, night-time under the stars;
I'd ha' paid my fare where I've beat my way (but I wouldn't ha' liked it more!),
Me that was born with a taste for travel – the same if you're rich or poor. (CHO)

Now I've beat the ties an' rode the bumpers from sea to shinin' sea,
An' I've work'd like a Turk down in the stokehold, dined off duff an' tea;
An' many's the time I've been short o' shelter, an' many's the time o' grub,
But I got away from the rows o' houses, the streets, an' the corner pub;
So here by the side of a sea that's shinin' under a sky like flame –
Me that was born with a taste for travel, need no other claim. (CHO)


Here's a link to an MP3 sample of how I sing this song: Click and go to MP3 sample

I'm also introducing the song with the chorus.

It seems like a keeper to me.

Cheerily,
Charley Noble