Key: G major
Intro 1
D
D
D
I was riding on the mayflower
when I thought I spied some land
D
Verse 1
D
I was riding on the mayflower
when I thought I spied some land
I yelled for Captain Arab,
I have you understand
G
Who came running to the deck
said, "Boys, forget the whale
D
Look on over yonder, cut the engines,
change the sail
A
Haul on the bowline", we sang that melody
D
Like all tough sailors do
when they're far away at sea
D
D
Verse 2
D
"I think I'll call it America,"
I said said as we hit land
I took a deep breath,
I fell down, I could not stand
G
Captain Arab he started
writing up some deeds
D
He said, "Let's set up a fort
and start buyin' a place with beads"
A
Just then this cop comes down the street,
crazy as a loon
D
He throws us all in jail for carrying harpoons
D
D
Verse 3
D
Ah, me I busted out, don't even ask me how
I went to get some help,
I walked by a Guernsey cow
G
Who directed me down to the Bowery slums
D
Where people carried signs around
sayin', "Ban the bums"
A
I jumped right into line sayin'
"I hope that I'm not late"
D
When I realized I hadn't eaten
for five days straight
D
D
Verse 4
D
I went into a restaurant looking for the cook
I told him I was the editor
of a famous etiquette book
G
The waitress he was handsome,
he wore a powder blue cape
D
I ordered some Suzette,
I said "could you please make that Crepe?"
A
Just then the whole kitchen
exploded from boilin' fat
D
Food was flyin' everywhere,
I left without my hat
D
D
Verse 5
D
Now, I didn't mean to be nosy
but I went into a bank
To get some bail for Arab
and all the boys back in the tank
G
They asked me for some collateral
and I pulled down my pants
D
They threw me in the alley
when up comes this girl from France
A
Who invited me to her house,
I went but she had a friend
D
Who knocked me out and robbed my boots
and I was on the street again
D
D
Verse 6
D
Well, I rapped upon a house
with the U.S. flag upon display
I said, "Could you help me out,
I got some friends down the way"
G
"The man says, "Get out of here,
I'll tear you limb from limb"
D
I said, "You know they refused Jesus, too",
he said, "You're not Him
A
Get out of here before I break your bones,
I ain't your pop"
D
I decided to have him arrested
Interlude 1
and I went lookin' for a cop
D
D
D
D
Verse 7
D
I ran right outside, I hopped inside a cab
I went out the other door,
this Englishman said, "Fab"
G
As he saw me leap a hot dog stand
and a chariot that stood
D
Parked across
from a building advertising brotherhood
A
I ran right through the front door
like a hobo sailor does
D
But it was just a funeral parlor
and the man asked me who I was
D
D
Verse 8
D
I repeated that my friends
were all in jail with a sigh
He gave me his card,
he said, "Call me if they die"
G
I shook his hand and said goodbye,
ran out to the street
D
When a bowling ball came down the road
and knocked me off my feet
A
A pay phone was ringing
and it just about blew my mind
D
When I picked it up and said hello,
this foot came through the line
D
D
D
Verse 9
D
Well, by this time I's fed up
at tryin' to make a stab
At bringing back any help
for my friends and Captain Arab
G
I decided to flip a coin
like either heads or tails
D
Would let me know if
I should go back to ship or back to jail
A
So I hocked my sailor suit
and I got a coin to flip
D
It came up tails, it rhymed with sails,
so I made it back to the ship
D
D
Verse 10
D
Well, I got back and took the parking ticket
off the mast
I was ripping it to shreds
when this coastguard boat went past
G
They asked me my name
and I said, "Captain Kidd"
D
They believed me but they wanted to know
what exactly that I did
A
I said for the Pope of Eruke I was employed
D
They let me go right away,
they were very paranoid
D
D
D
Verse 11
D
Well, the last I heard of Arab,
he was stuck on a whale
That was married
to the deputy sheriff of the jail
G
But the funniest thing was
when I was leavin' the bay
D
I saw three ships sailin' there,
were all heading my way
A
I asked the captain what his name was
and how come he didn't drive a truck
D
He said his name was Columbus,
I just said, "Good luck"
D
D
D
[Fade Out]
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