He'll laugh at your jokes,
Agree with your lies
And happy being
Just one of the guys.
After some lengthy
Maneuvers at sea
His mind is focused
On a good liberty
When he first sets foot
On the ship yard docks
You know where he's from
By the way he walks.
And he walks quite fast
To his watering hole
Where he becomes prey
For some one to roll.
If he should get rolled
He shows no regrets
If they left him change
For some cigarettes
then on the way back
To his ship once more
He walks funnier
Than he did before
Like all good sailors
After they unwind
Rolls up his sleeves, and
Gets back to the grind
There's the heat from steam
And many long hours
Little fresh water
For taking showers
But he doesn't mind
Any part of this
He's a tin can man
And that's how it is
When his ship departs
And enters harms way
He will state with pride
"Just earning my pay."
And as they proceed
Through the jowls of hell
He's pleased with himself
For performing well
When the ship returns
To home port once more
He takes the credit
For winning the war
Then in later years
In civilian life
He will settle down
With a lovely wife
While at his bedside
And on bended knee
He will pray for those
Who were lost at sea
After drifting off
Into a deep dream
He's back aboard ship
And cranking up steam
His mind often dwells
On his old shipmates
Cherishing his years
With those reprobates
At ships reunions
He's first to arrive
With his sea stories
The past comes alive
And the bond that formed
While part of the crew
Becomes stronger still
With their past on review
That same bond they share
No one can sever
All tin can sailors
Are shipmates forever
