ROVING RANSO.

(Topsail halliard)

Oh, we'll sing of Roving Ranso,
Chorus: Ranso, boys, Ranso,
Oh, we'll sing of Roving Ranzo,
Chorus: Ranso, boys, Ranso.

[Similarly:]

Oh, Ranso was no sailor....

But the son of a Boston tailor....

He shipped aboard of a whaler....

But he couldn't do his duty....

So they took him to the gangway....

And they lashed him four and twenty....

Aboard was the captain's datter....

She ran and told her father....

The captain being a kind man....

He took him to the cabin....

And fed him cakes and brandy....

And taught him navigation....

And no he's Captain Ranso....


The well-known story rarely changes. One or two other early printed versions have "Rovin'" rather than the more frequent and now demanded "Reuben."

"Datter" was a common dialect spelling of the old New England pronunciation of "daughter" (with the "a" rather like "ah" not "aw.")