The officers and men were in fine spirits, and the very first evening out, as they sailed along with a spanking breeze, Bill Green piped up an inspiring song to his mates on the foks’l, which echoed even to the quarter-deck. The officers listened with pleasure, while Bill sung in his full, round, and musical baritone the following song:[2]
“When the anchor’s weighed and the ship’s unmoored,
And landsmen lag behind, sir,
The sailor joyfully skips on board,
And, swearing, prays for wind, sir.
Towing here,
Yeoing there,
Steadily, readily,
Cheerily, merrily,
Still from care and thinking free.