G Em 
It was of a comely young lady fair,
G C G 
Who was walking out to take the air,
G7 C 
She met a sailor upon her way,
G C G 
So I paid attention, I paid atte ntion,
D7 G 
To hear what she might say.

Says he, "Fair maid, why walk alone,
When night is coming and day is gone ?"
Says she, while tears from her eyes did fall,
"My dark-eyed sailor, my dark-eyed sailor
Is proving my downfall.

"Tis two long years since he left this land,
A ring he took from off his hand.
He broke the token here's half with me,
The other lies rolling, the other lies rolling
At the bottom of the sea."

Says William, "Cast him off your mind,
There's better sailors than him you'll find.
Love turns aside and cold does grow,
Like a winter's morning, a winter's morning

These words did Phoebe's heart inflame.
She cries, "On me you'll play no game.
I will be true to my own dear love,
And my dark-eyed sailor, my dark-eyed sailor
Still claims this heart of mine.

"But a dark-eyed sailor I would never disdain,
And I would always treat the same.
To drink his health here's a piece of coin,
But my dark-eyed sailor, my dark-eyed sailor
Still claims this heart of mine."

Well, when William did the ring unfold,
She seemed distracted midst joy and woe,
Saying, "You're welcome William, I've lands
For my dark-eyed sailor, my dark-eyed sailor
So manly, true, and bold."

Well, in a cottage down by the riverside,
In happiness and peace they now reside.
So girls be true while your lover is away,
For a cloudy morning, a cloudy morning
Oft brings a pleasant day.