[Verse 1]
I decided to go to sea
When I was twenty-two
But bein' a farmer for half me life
I didn't know what to do
And then a sailor says
"Paddy West will show you like he shall be"
For one sure thing about Paddy West
He's never been to sea

[Chorus]
Put on your dungaree jackets
And walk up lookin' your best
And tell them you're an old sailor man
That's come from Paddy West

[Verse 2]
Then I went walkin' down London Road
'Til I come to Paddy West's inn
He made me a sailor that very night
While he filled my glass with gin
He put me in a rockin' chair
And he rocked me to and fro
Sayin', "Now, you'll work like a sailor man
Unsteady as you go"
[Chorus]
Put on your dungaree jackets
And walk up lookin' your best
And tell them you're an old sailor man
That's come from Paddy West

[Verse 3]
He showed me the starboard, he showed me the port
He showed me the aft and forward
Then, Paddy, he calls for a length of rope
And he lays it on the floor
And I stepped over and back again
'Til he says to me, "That's fine
Now, when they ask if you've been to sea
You can say you crossed the line", whoa!

[Chorus]
Put on your dungaree jackets
And walk up lookin' your best
And tell them you're an old sailor man
That's come from Paddy West

[Verse 4]
There's one more thing you will have to do
Before you sail away
That's to step around the table
Where a-drinkin's on the sea
And when they ask, "Were you ever at sea?"
You can say, "I've been 'round the Horn"
And beg on that you're a sailor
Since the day that you were born
[Chorus]
Put on your dungaree jackets
And walk up lookin' your best
And tell them you're an old sailor man
That's come from Paddy West

[Chorus]
So put on your dungaree jackets
And walk up lookin' your best
And tell them you're an old sailor man
That's come from Paddy West