Sloop John B

Traditional; arranged by Brian Wilson
Performed by the Beach Boys

We come on the Sloop John B
My grandfather and me.
Around Nassau town we did roam,
Drinking all night,
Got into a fight,
Well I feel so broke up,
I wanna go home.

Refrain:
So hoist up the John B sail,
See how the mainsail sets,
Call for the captain ashore,
Let me go home,
I wanna go home,
Well, I feel so broke up,
I wanna go home.

First Mate, he got drunk,
Broke in the captain's bunk,
Constable had to come and take him away.
Sheriff John Stone,
Why don't you leave me alone?
Well I feel so broke up,
I wanna go home.

(Refrain)

The forecook he caught the fits,
Threw away all my grits,
Then he took and ate up all of my corn.
Let me go home,
I wanna go home,
This is the worst trip
I've ever been on.

(Refrain)

Sloop John B is a traditional folk song from the Bahamas. It has been recorded under many other names, including The John B Sails, Wreck of the Sloop 'John B', and I Want To Go Home. It's about a bad trip to Nassau, drinking, and sailing. The title is thought to be a reference to a sloop (obviously) named for John Bethel, one of the original settlers of Eleuthera.

The first written record of the song is in the book American Songbag, anthology of folk music by Carl Sandburg (as "The John B Sails"). In 1951 it was adapted by Lee Hays, who was a member the Weavers along with Pete Seeger, but the best known versions are the ones by the Kingston Trio in 1958, and by the Beach Boys in 1966.