Cover art for Talking Sailor (Talking Merchant Marine) by Woody Guthrie

Talking Sailor (Talking Merchant Marine)

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Talking Sailor (Talking Merchant Marine) Lyrics

In bed with my woman, just singin' the blues
Heard the radio tellin' the news:
That the big Red Army took a hundred towns
And Allies droppin' them two-ton bombs
Started hollerin', yellin', dancin' up and down like a bullfrog!
Doorbell rung and in come a man
I signed my name, I got a telegram
Said, "If you wanna take a vacation trip
Got a dish-washin' job on a Liberty ship."
Woman a-cryin', me a-flyin', out the door and down the line!

'Bout two minutes I run ten blocks
I come to my ship, down at the dock;
Walked up the plank, and I signed my name
Blowed that whistle, was gone again!
Right on out and down the stream, ships as fur as my eye could see, woman a-waitin'

Ship loaded down with TNT
All out across the rollin' sea;
Stood on the deck, watched the fishes swim
I'se a-prayin' them fish wasn't made out of tin
Sharks, porpoises, jellybeans, rainbow trouts, mudcats, jugars, all over that water

This convoy's the biggest I ever did see
Stretches all the way out across the sea;
And the ships blow the whistles and a-rang her bells
Gonna blow them fascists all to hell!
Win some freedom, liberty, stuff like that
Walked to the tail, stood on the stern
Lookin' at the big brass screw blade turn;
Listened to the sound of the engine pound
Gained sixteen feet every time it went around
Gettin' closer and closer, look out, you fascists

I'm just one of the merchant crew
I belong to the union called the N. M. U
I'm a union man from head to toe
I'm U. S. A. and C. I. O
Fightin' out here on the waters to win some freedom on the land

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