Johnny Todd he took a notion
For to sail the oceans wide
But he left his true love behind him
Waiting by the Liverpool tide

For a week she wept full sorely
Tore her hair and wrung her hands
Till she met with another sailor
Walking on the Liverpool sands.

Oh fair maid why are you weeping
For your Johnny gone to sea
If you'll wed with me tomorrow
I will kind and constant be

I will buy you sheets and blankets
I'll buy you a wedding ring
You shall have a silver cradle
For to rock your baby in.

Johnny Todd came home from sailing
Sailing oer the ocean wide
But he found that his fair and false one
Was another sailor's bride.

So youg lads who go a-sailing
For to fight the foreign foe
Don't you leave your love like Johnny
Marry her before you go.

[From singing of Joy]

[This song appears in Frank Kidson's Traditional Tunes: A Collection of Ballad Airs (1891). Kidson collected it in Liverpool, England.]