A galley boy’s life is often hard
spending the day scrubbing pots and pans;
being indoors all day he looks pale,
but his nails are clean
which can’t be said of the bad tempered cook
who shouts at him
and clean his with a carving knife.
The deck boy and the engine boy thinks he’s a swell guy
they know that he has the key to the storeroom
where they go when the older men are busy
playing poker in the mess hall,
gorge on canned peaches, prunes, left over puddings
and bars of cooking chocolate.