I have spent some heavy nights, like every sailor,
And I know some seedy ways to spend my pay.
I've been arrested in the streets,
I've been drunk along the beaches of Marseilles.
And you know that when I left, I said I loved you,
But you think I've got a girl in every town,
When the hidden harbour whores
Whisper softly from their doors,
I turn them down.

Mona, will you help me to unload my contraband?
I've been saving it for you.
I've ignored the crimson daughters on the quays of Amsterdam,
And that's not an easy thing to do.

I keep away from the girls in San Francisco,
'Cause I know my self-control won't last for long,
And a man could lose his head
With a little help from the hookers of Hong Kong.
And as I sail across these endless oceans
I think of you each mile along the way,
And I tell myself this boat that I am sailing on
Will bring me back one day.

Mona, will you help me to unload my contraband?
I've been saving it for you.
I've ignored the crimson daughters on the quays of Amsterdam,
And that's not an easy thing to do.