I was paid off at the Home, from a voyage to Sierra Leone,
Two pounds ten and sixpence was my pay,
When I drew the tin I grinned, but I very soon got skinned,
By a girl by the name of Maggie May.
Chorus:
Oh, Maggie, Maggie May, they've taken you away,
They've sent you to Van Diemen's cruel shore,
For you robbed so many a sailor, and skinned so many a whaler,
And you'll never shine in Paradise Street no more.
I shan't forget the day when I first met Maggie May,
She was cruising up and down on Canning Place,
With a figure so divine, like a frigate of the line,
So, being a sailor, I gave chase.
Chorus:
Oh, Maggie, Maggie May, they've taken you away,
They've sent you to Van Diemen's cruel shore,
For you robbed so many a sailor, and skinned so many a whaler,
And you'll never shine in Paradise Street no more.
Next day I woke in bed, with a sore and aching head,
No shoes, or shirt, or trousers could I find.
I asked her where they were, and she answered, "My dear sir,
They're down in Kelly's knock-shop, number nine."
Chorus:
Oh, Maggie, Maggie May, they've taken you away,
They've sent you to Van Diemen's cruel shore,
For you robbed so many a sailor, and skinned so many a whaler,
And you'll never shine in Paradise Street no more.
Oh, you thieving Maggie May, you robbed me of my pay,
When I slept with you last night ashore,
And the judge he guilty found her of robbing a homeward-bounder,
And she'll never roam down Paradise Street no more.
Chorus:
Oh, Maggie, Maggie May, they've taken you away,
They've sent you to Van Diemen's cruel shore,
For you robbed so many a sailor, and skinned so many a whaler,
And you'll never shine in Paradise Street no more.
Alternative chorus:
Oh, Maggie, Maggie May, they have taken you away,
And you'll never walk down Lime Street anymore.
You may search from here to China,
you'll not find a girl that's finer,
That is finer than my darlin' Maggie May.