In the Black Ball Line Oh! I served me time,
Timme way-ay-ay a Rio!
In the Black Ball line, I served me time,
Hurrah for the Black Ball line!

Hey, Black Ball ships are good and true,
Timme way-ay-ay a Rio!
They are the ships for me and you.
Hurrah for the Black Ball line!

Hey! There was once a Black Ball ship,
That fourteen knots an hour could clip.

Oh! They carry you where the winds don't blow,
They carry you through the frost and snow.

Oh! If you want to join a good gold mine,
Just take a trip to Liverpool.

To Liverpool the packet school,
To Liverpool that Yankee school.

Hey! Yankee sailors you'll see there,
With red-topped boots and close-cropped hair.

Oh, in the Black Ball line, oh I served me time,
In the Black Ball line I wasted me prime.