When I was a little boy, as little as a boy could be
when I was a little boy my mother always told me:
Never sail around the world and never leave your luck behind
Never sail around the world, stay down where you belong, boy
When I was a little lad, as little as a lad could be
When I was a little lad my father always told me:
Never live your life at ease and never let your deal go down
Never live your life at ease, stay down where you belong, boy
When I was a busy clerk, as busy as a clerk could be
When I was a busy clerk my master always told me:
Never loaf through life at peace, never settle down to it
Never loaf through life at peace, stay down where you belong, boy
Now I am a foreign man as foreign as a man could be
Now I am a foreign man, a stranger in my own life
I never roamed around the world, I never let my deal go down
I never spent my life at ease, don′t know where I belong, boy