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Roving Kind Lyrics

Artist: Guy Mitchell
Album: Roving Kind

The Roving Kind
Guy Mitchell
Written by Jesse Cavanaugh and Arnold Stanton

Peaked at # 4 in 1951
Competing versions by The Weavers hit # 11 and by Rex Allen hitt #20.
Adapted from the old 1800s English folk song "The Pirate Ship."

(She had a dark and a-rovin' eye-uh-eye and her hair hung down in ring-a-lets)
(She was a nice girl, a proper girl but one of the rovin' kind)

As I cruised out one eve-e-ning upon a night's career
I spied a lofty clipper ship and to her I did steer
I heisted out my sig-a-nals which she so quickly knew
And when she saw my bunting fly she imme-diately hove to-woo-woo

(She had a dark and a-rovin' eye-uh-eye and her hair hung down in ring-a-lets)
(She was a nice girl, a proper girl but one of the rovin' kind)

I took her for some fish and chips and treated her so fine
And hardly did I realize she was the rovin' kind
I kissed her lips, I missed her lips and found to my surprise
She was nothin' but a pirate ship rigged up in a dis-guy-eye-ise

(She had a dark and a-rovin' eye-eye-eye)
And her hair hung down in ring-a-lets
(She was a nice girl, a proper girl but one of the rovin' kind)

So, come all ye good sailor men who sail the wintry sea
And come, all ye apprentice lads, a warnin' take from me
Beware of lofty clipper ships, they'll be the ruin of you
For 'twas there she made me walk the plank and pushed me under, too-ooh-ooh

(She had a dark and a-rovin' eye-uh-eye and her hair hung down in ring-a-lets)
She was a nice girl, a proper girl but one of the rovin' kind

(She was a nice girl, a proper girl but)
One of the rovin' kind (yo-ho!)

Comments/Interpretations

by drew on 11/23/2009 7:19pm
I have been listening to this in my head for years and finally decided to find it. Great!

by rich on 8/11/2010 4:40pm
It never dawned on me to use the internet to find the words to this music until my wife poked me in the forehead. I was looking for 20 years.

by Rick on 2/11/2012 12:11pm
I am sure that originally the second verse (which has been dropped) was

Oh pardon me, she said to me,
For being out so late,
But if my parents knew of this
oh sad would be my fate
My father is in politic, a good an righteous man
My mother is an acrobat, I do the best I ca-aa-an.

by John on 6/8/2012 7:39am
Rick, you are right! I sang this in Air Force chorus back in the mid-60s.
It was the fish and chips verse that I could not recall.

by Taconicus on 9/1/2012 10:23pm
I remember the "pardon me ... for being out so late" verse from the early 60's too, but that verse may have been inserted by the Weavers for their (c. 1950) version; I'm not sure it was in the original Cavanaugh/Stanton song.

by Frank on 4/6/2014 9:50am
I remember listening to this song, sung by the Weavers, over 60 years ago. Reading these lyrics brings back fond memories.

by Barry on 6/17/2014 12:43am
A great song. I've loved it since the 50's.

by Bob on 8/3/2014 12:09pm
I sang this to my aunt's 78-rmp records when I was 3 years old.....mispronounced a few words.....sang "She was the Rolling Kind".......(according to my parents). Still like the song.

by Magnus Pauling on 3/12/2016 4:45am
Brings back fond memories...
Thank you for that!

by patrick H on 6/21/2016 2:20am
Taconites is right, Guy Mitchell did not sing that verse.

by Scott W on 1/23/2017 9:52am
I have fond memories of listening to it in the early 50's. Recently I realized it would be perfect to sing to my ex-wife or better yet at her wake. Can't wait. :)

by Dolly on 8/25/2017 9:46am
I believe it should be "hoisted up" my
sig-a-nals
This has been running in my head all day!

by Peggy on 9/9/2017 2:44pm
What's the meaning of....when she saw my bunting fly?

by BAD BOY on 2/15/2019 5:22pm
AM 83 YEARS OLD, GOT TO THINKING ABOUT SOME OF THE SONGS FROM MY ERA,[ 50s] SO JUST HAD TO LOOK IT UP, THANKS

by william austin on 10/9/2021 2:48am
I am 94 and I am sure we sang this song in the bar during my time at Cambridge,48-50.