Down where the tall chimneys tower
Beneath where the cranes and the derricks look down
There lives sweet Mary, my flower
The pride of Avonmouth town
Oh Mary, I don't know when
I'll see Shirehampton again
But there's one thing I'm sure
The things you've been doing have led me to ruin
I'll never see Bristol no more
Now twas strolling down Park Street I met her
Her eyes they were lovely and black as Welsh coal
And oh, I should have known better
Well she took me, body and soul
Oh Mary, I don't know when
I'll see Shirehampton again
But there's one thing I'm sure
The things you've been doing have led me to ruin
I'll never see Bristol no more
Now her friends were the town's finest ladies
There was Bedminster Bertha and Polly from Pill
And a dozen more gin-swilling babies
Who'd drink every glass you could fill
Oh Mary, I don't know when
I'll see Shirehampton again
But there's one thing I'm sure
The things you've been doing have led me to ruin
I'll never see Bristol no more
Well I thought that to marry I'd ask her
Now she answered me yes and we planned for the day
But she left me for Alaska
On a tanker bound for Bombay
Oh Mary, I don't know when
I'll see Shirehampton again
But there's one thing I'm sure
The things you've been doing have led me to ruin
I'll never see Bristol no more
So beware all you Bristol-bound sailors
Of the girlies who smile and give you the eye
For the ladies of Park Street
Are the fairest that money can buy
Oh Mary, I don't know when
I'll see Shirehampton again
But there's one thing I'm sure
The things you've been doing have led me to ruin
I'll never see Bristol no more