THE SHIP OF RIO

There was a ship of Rio

Sailed out into the blue,

And nine and ninety monkeys

Were all her jovial crew.

From bo'sun to the cabin boy,

From quarter to caboose,

There were n't a stitch of calico

To breech‘ em - tight or loose;

From spar to deck, from deck to keel,

From barnacle to shroud,

There were n't one pair of reach-me-downs

To all that jabbering crowd.

But was n't it a gladsome sight,

When roared the deep sea gales,

To see them reef her fore and aft

A-swinging by their tails!

Oh, was n't it a gladsome sight,

When glassy calm did come,

To see them squatting tailor-wise

Around a keg of rum!

Oh, was n't it a gladsome sight,

When in she sailed to land,

To see them all a-scampering skip

For nuts across the sand!