We were forty miles from Albany,
Forget it I never shall.
What a terrible storm we had one night
On the E-ri-e Can*l.
Oh, the E-ri-e was a-risin',
And the gin was a-getting' low,
And I scarcely think we'll get a drink
Till we get to Buffalo,
Till we get to Buffalo.
Well, the barge was full of barley,
And the crew was full of rye;
The captain he looked down on me
With a dag-gone wicked eye.
Oh, the E-ri-e was a-risin',
And the gin was a-getting' low,
And I scarcely think we'll get a drink
Till we get to Buffalo,
Till we get to Buffalo.
Well, the captain he stood up on deck
With a spygla** in his hand,
And the fog it was so doggone thick
That he couldn't spy the land.
Oh, the E-ri-e was a-risin',
And the gin was a-getting' low,
And I scarcely think we'll get a drink
Till we get to Buffalo,
Till we get to Buffalo.
Now two days out from Syracuse
The vessel struck a shoal.
We'd like to all be foundered on
A chunk of Lackawanna coal.
Oh, the E-ri-e was a-risin',
And the gin was a-getting' low,
And I scarcely think we'll get a drink
Till we get to Buffalo,
Till we get to Buffalo.
The cook she was a grand old gal,
She wore a raggedy dress;
We heisted her upon the pole
As a signal of distress.
Oh, the E-ri-e was a-risin',
And the gin was a-getting' low,
And I scarcely think we'll get a drink
Till we get to Buffalo,
Till we get to Buffalo.
Now the captain he got married,
The cook she went to jail,
And I'm the only son of a sea cook
Left to tell the tale.
Oh, the E-ri-e was a-risin',
And the gin was a-getting' low,
And I scarcely think we'll get a drink
Till we get to Buffalo,
Till we get to Buffalo.