[Verse 1]
If I was on some foggy mountain top
I'd sail away to the west
I'd sail around this whole wide world
To the girl I love the best
If I had listened what mama says
I would not have been here today
A-lying around this old jail house
A-weeping my sweet life away

[Chorus]
Yeah, oh-lay-ee-oh, lee-oh-la-ee-ay
Lee-oh-lay-ee, lay-ee, oh-lay-ee

[Verse 2]
Oh, if you see that girl of mine
There's something you must tell her
She need not be fooling no time away
To court some other feller
Oh, she's caused me to weep, she's caused me to mourn
She caused me to leave my home
For the lonesome pine and the good old times
I'm on my way back home

[Chorus]
[Verse 3]
Oh, when you go a-courting
I'll tell you how to do
Pull off that long-tailed roustabout
Put on your navy blue

[Chorus]