It's of a pretty female
As you may understand
Her mind being bent for rambling
Into some foreign land
She dressed herself in sailor's clothes
Or so it does appear
And she hired with a Captain
To serve him for a year
Her cheeks they were like roses
And her hair rolled in a curl
The sailors often smiled and said
He looked just like a girl
But eating of the Captain's biscuit
Her colour did destroy
And the waist did swell of pretty Nell
The handsome cabin boy
It was in the Bay of Biscay
Our gallant ship did plough
One night among the sailors
Was a fearful flurry and row
They tumbled from their hammocks
For their sleep it did destroy
And they swore about the groaning
Of the handsome cabin boy
"Oh doctor dear, oh doctor"
The cabin boy did cry
"My time has come, I am undone
And I will surely die"
The doctor come a-running
And a-smiling at the fun
To think a sailor lad should have
A daughter or a son
The sailors when they saw the joke
They all did stand and stare
The child belonged to none of them
They solemnly did swear
The captain's wife she says to him
"My dear I wish you joy
For 'tis either you or me's betrayed
The handsome cabin boy"