LISTENING

he’s well-known on the Barbary Coast
tar and feathered he looks like a ghost

7-feet tall, weighs 100 pounds
a couple of buck teeth that almost touch the ground

shanghaied sailors know him well
he opens the door and sends them down to hell

oofty goofty
oofty goofty
oofty goofty
oofty goofty

he walks up and down Battery Street
top hat on his head, nothing on his feet

naked inside a sandwich board
see what’s written there – it says: praise the lord
and drop into Miss Lucy’s for a fine good time
I’ll book you passage on the Shanghai line

oofty goofty
oofty goofty
oofty goofty
oofty goofty

down on the waterfront in the afternoon
he’s drinking whiskey at Bill Maitland’s Saloon

but at night he’s got all the sailors up at Miss Lazerene’s Shop
crowding thru the door to see him do the old Rag Mop

they say he’s a clown, they say he’s a crimp
a theatrical fellow or just an ordinary pimp
some say he’s runnin’ round to chase the devil away
speaking for himself all he can say cay is

oofty goofty
oofty goofty
oofty goofty
oofty goofty

flip him a nickel, flip him a dime
he’ll book you a ride on the Shanghai line

oofty goofty
oofty goofty
oofty goofty
oofty goofty

sail away, sailors sail away
cast you fate into the winds
around Cape Horn we’ll come sails rising
north to the Golden Gate

∙ ∙ ∙

we sailed out of Boston on the Ides of May
on the ship the Gypsy Moth
we were California bound

the Windward Islands off to port
we crossed the equator on St. Elmo’s day
we were going the long way around

God have mercy on our souls
God have mercy
sail away, sailors sail away etc.

∙ ∙ ∙

the coast of the Argentine we passed in a fog
St. Elmo’s fire in the rigging and the sails
whales, waterspouts and the southern cross

we cleared the Cape on a cold and bitter day
ice on the deck. frost bite on our hands
three men overboard, drowned and lost

God have mercy on their souls
God have mercy
sail away, sailors sail away etc.

∙ ∙ ∙

free from the Cape we sailed into the Doldrums
our sails lay still, the winds failed to blow
we prayed for salvation and were answered by a breeze

then the trade winds came down whipped the waves
carried us all the way into San Francisco
we stood upon dry land, under the green leaves of trees

God had mercy on our souls
yes, God had mercy
sail away, sailors sail away etc.

take me down to the ocean
let the waves flow around my feet
to the old Pacific Ocean
down on Ocean Beach

the waves roll in
then the waves roll away from the land
high tide—low tide
got my foot prints in the sand

red sun setting
I’m looking into its eye thru the wind
all the way to China
and the Pacific Rim

the fog rolls in
the fog rolls in
and San Francisco slowly disappears
into the night

the fog rolls in
the fog rolls in
and the city is covered
in a cloud of glowing white

down here by the ocean
seagulls circle the sky
out on the horizon
a ship going nowhere sails by

the waves roll in
then the waves roll away from the land
high tide—low tide
got my foot prints in the sand