| A | Em | |
| I'm thinking about when I was a sailor |
| A | D | E | |
| Spent my time on the open seas |
| A | Em | |
| When we'd stay off the coast of Jamaic | a |
| D-D-D-A | |
| I'd secretly steal ashore |
| D-D-D-A | |
| The natives were waiting for |
| D-D-D-A | |
| The boy with the lazy soul |
| D-D-D-A | E | |
| To sing with the sailor |
| (Chorus) |
| A | D | |
| Vahevala, homele | ss sailor |
| Vahevala, homeward sail away |
| Vahevala, homeless sailor |
| Vahevala, homeward sail away |
| Em | A | |
| Every evening I'd be gone |
| Em | A | E | |
| Back on board by break of dawn |
| I'm thinking about the nights in Jamaica |
| Pretty girls dancin' here and there |
| Stole a keg and now I'm drunk as a sailor |
| The captain he don't know |
| Where Billy he done go |
| But I'm singing with native girls |
| The songs of a sailor |
| (Chorus) |
| Every night in Jamaica I'd sing with the lady |
| And drink with the men till the morning appear |
| Healthy sunshine is fresh on my face |
| As the songs of the night puts the ring in my ear |
| (Chorus) |