When I was just a little lad
Of maybe two or three
I had a tiny sailboat
That my aunt had given me.
And when I had to take a bath
I'd put it in the tub with me
And dream of the day when I would help
To sail a ship at sea.

In History books I read of ships
And brave men sailing round
To prove the world was not so small
And naming new lands they had found.
I wished that I had lived back there
And had a ship to sail the sea
Then I could have discovered land
And had a country named for me.

While still in school I got a job
At a motel by the lake
I found an old boat lying there
My boss said I could take.
As I would watch the distance grow
Between the sandy beach and me
I longed for the day I'd join a ship
And head for the open sea.

That day has come and I'm so glad
To belong to the Boys in Blue
And now, at last, I have a ship
And a special job to do.
On my ship we're a friendly crew
And no one is a stranger
I am happy and proud to be
A sailor on the U.S.S. Ranger