The Adventures of Jonas Mauken Lyrics

The Adventures of Jonas Mauken, a New England Scot, and the Only Man Who Ever Returned From Fiddler's Green to Sail Again

1.
I set out to sea in 1853...
I was chin-deep in rum
And tired of drifting.
Well, that schooner sank,
And when she hit bottom,
I swam from the crow's nest
And trudged back to Boston.

Next time around it was nigh 1860,
But the voyage was jinxed,
We took tacks that were risky.
A storm sent us down,
And I bubbled and frowned.
It was a long ways away,
A long hike back to town.

2.
In 1903 word first got to me
That the name Jonas Mauken
Was rather unlucky.
Despite this I sailed
(as "Salty" J. Mackie)
And sank not but two miles
In sight glass of Quincy.
Four years elapsed
And I went out with Dow
On that steel, seven-master,
And I spat on the bow.
We ran fore a gale
That tore out the rigging,
And she finally floundered
Near the Islands of Scilly.

...A whaler from Portsmouth,
A trawler from Gloucester...
They all met their fate
And I slowly slogged homeward...

3.
For decades and decades
I been sinking ships,
But never a curse
Hath come from my lips.
I'm a good-natured man,
And an experienced hand,
But disaster comes calling
When I set out from land.
I spent years on the sea,
And many years under,
Tramping sea floor once
My ship's torn asunder.
But I'll keep trying, yea,
Though I sink every one,
Until somehow I'm stopped,
By God or by gun.