[Verse 1]
Little did I think when the judge first spoke
Those awful words to me
That I would feel again the cold winds blow
And a heart would beat in 'Babbacombe' Lee

[Verse 2]
I was born to lead a life of sorrow
(I've seen friends hang their heads in shame)
Growing tired and weary of the morrow
Tortured by my terrible name

[Verse 3]
When I was fifteen, my father called to me
Saying "Now you are a man and all men work"
There's a lady and they say her name's Miss Keyse
Her pony's very old, it needs a nurse

[Bridge]
For eighteen months, I worked for her up at the Glen
(She was like a mother to me)
But time goes slowly when you're thinking wishfully
(Of all the other places to be)

[Instrumental Break]
[Guitar Solo]
[Verse 4]
There were boats drifting in the harbour
There were sailors talking in the town
That's the life for a boy who wants to wander
For a man who doesn't want to settle down