Hey there,

I'm not a member of this site, I was just looking for the lyrics to this song and happened upon it. I'm a sailor with the U.S. Navy and I thought I'd shed some light on some of the more "nautical" lyrics. JWB was right about the sponger. It isn't hard to guess that the rolling main is none other than the Spanish main. I don't know how many sailors read this post, but if you were there-you know about standing watch every day. The watchstanders on the bridge, gun mounts, and elsewhere stand a rotating 24 hour watch. The watch from 0000-0400 or midnight to four is called the "mid watch" and it's the most boring watch of the day. So Jack and Joe kept everyone entertained. "Now she stands an empty hulk" refers to their old ship of course who's been decommisioned or otherwise abandoned. Starboard mess refers to the messdecks or "galley" where all the sailors congregated at meal hours. That's my two cents, I hope it helps someone get more out of the song.

-Mike