Here are the lyrics transcribed from the recording by Woody Guthrie and Cisco Houston (c.1944), available on "Woody Guthrie sings Folk Songs."

What Did the Deep Sea Say?

Oh Captain, tell me true
Does my sailor sail with you?
"No, he does not sail with me,
He sleeps on the bottom of the sea."

(Chorus:)
What did the deep sea say?
Tell me, what did the deep sea say?
It moaned and groaned, and it splashed and it foamed
And it rolled on its weary way.

Well, he promised he'd write to me,
But his promise he never kept true.
Never a word from a sailor have I heard
Since he sailed on that ocean blue.

What did the deep sea say?
Tell me, what did the deep sea say?
It moaned and groaned, and it splashed and it foamed
And it rolled on its weary way.

A beautiful rose every day
I place on the crest of the waves.
Said, "Take it please, and let the petals fall
Above his watery grave."

What did the deep sea say?
Tell me, what did the deep sea say?
It moaned and groaned, and it splashed and it foamed
And it rolled on its weary way.

What did the deep sea say?
Tell me, what did the deep sea say?
It moaned and groaned, and it splashed and it foamed
And it rolled on its weary way.