It's a damn tough life
Full of toil and strife
We whaler-men undergo
And we don't give a damn
When the gale is done
How hard the winds did blow
For we're homeward bound
From the Arctic ground
With a good ship, taut and free
And we won't give a damn
When we drink our rum
With the girls of old Maui
With the girls of old Maui
♪
Once more we sail
With the northerly gale
Through the ice and wind and rain
Them coconut fronds
Them tropical lands
We soon shall see again
Six hellish months we've passed away
On the cold Kamchatka sea
But now we're bound from the Arctic ground
Rolling down to old Maui
Rolling down to old Maui, me boys
Rolling down to old Maui
We're homeward bound
From the Arctic ground
Rolling down to old Maui
Once more we sail
With the northerly gale
Towards our island home
Our mainmast sprung
Our whaling done
And we ain't got far to roam
Our stun'sl booms is carried away
What care we for that sound?
A living gale is after us
Thank God, we're homeward bound
Rolling down to old Maui, me boys
Rolling down to old Maui
We're homeward bound
From the Arctic ground
Rolling down to old Maui
♪
How soft the breeze
Through the island trees
Now the ice is far astern
Them native maids
Them tropical glades
Is awaiting our return
Even now their big brown eyes look out
Hoping some fine day to see
Our baggy sails, running 'fore the gales
Rolling down to old Maui
Rolling down to old Maui, me boys
Rolling down to old Maui
We're homeward bound
From the Arctic ground
Rolling down to old Maui
We're homeward bound
From the Arctic ground
Rolling down to old Maui