When Fred'ric was
a little lad
he proved so
brave and daring
His father thought
he'd 'prentice him
to some career
seafaring
I was, alas
his nurs'ry maid
and so it fell to my lot
To take and bind
this promising boy
apprentice to a pilot
A life not bad
for a hardy lad
though surely
not a high lot
Though I'm a nurse
you might do worse
than make your boy
a pilot!
I was a stupid
nurs'ry maid
on breakers
always steering
And I did not catch
the word aright
through being
hard of hearing
Mistaking my instructions
which within my brain
did gyrate
I took and bound
this promising boy
apprentice to a Pirate!
A sad mistake
it was to make
and doom him
to a vile lot
I bound him to
a Pirate-you!
instead of to a pilot!
I soon found out
beyond all doubt
the scope of
this disaster
But I hadn't the face
to return to my place
and break it
to my master
A nurs'ry maid
is not afraid
of what you people
call work
So I made up my mind
to go as a kind of
piratical maid-of-all-work
And that is how
you find me now
a member of
your shy lot
Which you wouldn't
have found
had he been bound
apprentice to a pilot