Might as well mention that my final, still imperfect transcription is on another thread: "LYR ADD: Scott's version of "Can't You Dance the Polka."

As was the custom of the day, the boarding-house master, Martin Churchill, signed the hapless sailor aboard a ship bound round Cape Horn and sold him an outfit for the amount of his advance. Thus the sailor is victimized a second time. Instead of arriving home, he's forced to sail on a long and dangerous voyage for little money.