As the son of a son of a sailor I went out on the sea for adventure Expanding their view of the captain and crew Like a man just released from indenture As a dreamer of dreams and a travelin' man I have chalked up many a mile Read dozens of books about heroes and crooks And I've learned much from both of their styles Son of a son, son of a son, son of a son of a sailor Son of a gun; load the last ton One step ahead of the jailer Now away in the near future, southeast of disorder You can shake the hand of the mango man As he greets you at the border And the lady she hails from Trinidad Island of the spices Salt for your meat and cinnamon sweet And the rum is for all your good vices Haul the sheet in as we ride on the wind that our Forefathers harnessed before us Hear the bells ring as the tight rigging sings It's a son of a gun of a chorus Where it all ends I can't fathom, my friends If I knew, I might toss out my anchor So I'll cruise along always searchin' for songs Not a lawyer, a thief or a banker But a son of a son, son of a son, son of a son of a sailor Son of a gun, load the last ton One step ahead of the jailer I'm just a son of a son, son of a son, son of a son of a sailor The sea's in my veins, my tradition remains I'm just glad I don't live in a trailer