Edmund Clarence Stedman, ed. (1833–1908). A Victorian Anthology, 1837–1895. 1895.

Frederic Edward Weatherly b. 1848

Nancy Lee

OF all the wives as e’er you know,

Yeo-ho! lads ho! Yeo-ho! Yeo-ho!

There ’s none like Nancy Lee, I trow,

Yeo-ho! lads ho! Yeo-ho!

See there she stands an’ waves her hands upon the quay,

And ev’ry day when I ’m away, she ’ll watch for me,

An’ whisper low, when tempests blow for Jack at Sea,

Yeo-ho! lads ho! Yeo-ho!

The sailor’s wife the sailor’s star shall be,

Yeo-ho! we go across the sea;

The sailor’s wife the sailor’s star shall be,

The sailor’s wife his star shall be.

The harbor’s past, the breezes blow:

Yeo-ho! lads ho! Yeo-ho! Yeo-ho!

’T is long ere we come back, I know;

Yeo-ho! lads ho! Yeo-ho!

But true an’ bright from morn till night my home will be,

An’ all so neat, an’ snug, an’ sweet, for Jack at sea,

An’ Nancy’s face to bless the place, an’ welcome me;

Yeo-ho! lads ho! Yeo-ho!

The boa’s’n pipes the watch below,

Yeo-ho! lads ho! Yeo-ho! Yeo-ho!

Then here ’s a health afore we go,

Yeo-ho! lads ho! Yeo-ho!

A long long life to my sweet wife and mates at sea;

An’ keep our bones from Davy Jones where’er we be,

An’ may you meet a mate as sweet as Nancy Lee;

Yeo-ho! lads ho! Yeo-ho!

The sailor’s wife the sailor’s star shall be,

Yeo-ho! we go across the sea;

The sailor’s wife the sailor’s star shall be,

The sailor’s wife his star shall be.