The Sailor's Return- The Three Hats Vol. 2 - 1950
[The Three Hats Vol. 2 - 1950 is a privately published booklet of bawdy songs: "Being a private collection of favorite lyrics gleaned from the pubs, bistros, Sake dispensaries, dives, gin mills, pup tents, ward rooms, and post exchanges frequented by soldiers, sailors, and airmen during the late unpleasantness [refers to World war II].
The first line of each of the husband's stanzas, as follows, is lifted almost verbatim from Robert Louis Stevenson:
"Home came the sailor, home from the sea,"
A version titled "The Sailor's Return" appears in Frank Shay's "More Pious Friends and Drunken Companions" (N.Y.: Macaulay, 1928, pp. 104-105). Shay calls his version "a sterilization of a ribald ballad." He offers no tune. Eric Posselt ("Edgar Palmer") included it w/o attribution in "G. I. Songs" (N.Y.: Sheridan House, 1944).
The Feb. 21, 1953 _Billboard_ (p. 34) listed a song by Charles R. Grean & Tom Glazer called "Home Came a Sailor," rec. by Elton Britt & Rosalie Allen on the RCA Victor label. It's a professional "pop" arrangement based on the standard lyrics. (see also: Mudcat Discussion group)
R. Matteson 2013]
THE SAILOR'S RETURN - The Three Hats Vol.2 (1950)
(Tune: "Our Gude Man')
Home came the sailor, home from the sea,
And there in the stable a strange horse did see.
"O wife, now tell me what can this mean,
"A strange brown horse where my mare should have been?"
"You old fool, you danged fool, you son-of-a-gun," said she,
"It's nothing but a milk cow my mother sent to me."
"Miles have I sailed, five thousand or more,
"But a cow without an udder I never saw before."
Home came the sailor, home from the sea,
And there in the parlor a strange coat saw he.
"O wife, now tell me what can this mean,
"A coat that's not mine where my coat should have been?"
"You old fool, you danged fool, you son-of-a-gun," said she,
"It's nothing but a blanket my mother sent to me."
"Miles have I sailed, five thousand or more,
"But buttons on a blanket I never saw before."
Home came the sailor, home from the sea,
And there in his bed a strange face did see.
"O wife, now tell me what does this mean,
"Another man's head where my own should have been?"
"You old fool, you danged fool, you son-of-a-gun," said she,
"It's nothing but a cabbage head my mother sent to me"
"Miles have I sailed, five thousand or more,
"But whiskers on a cabbage head I never saw before."