There are sights that sailors say they see, and those they really do
But I swear on forty years at sea that what I say is true
There are ships that sail from another vale to steal your soul away
And the schooner Kelly sails the mist outside of Biscay Bay

The Kelly sailed from Anondale in 1882
With a load of lumber, tar and nails-- and a fifteen sailor crew
She was old and slow and ships of coal had taken all the trade
So the owners called the captain in, and the devil's deal was made

Chorus:
Now is weigh hey boys
There's a ghost upon the ocean
Weight hey boys
There's a dark sail off the bow
Weight hey boys
She's a ship in search of sailors
And who's to say if she comes this way
Who'll sail the Kelly now....

The winds were light on the moonlit night the captain walked astern
With a lighted lamp and a pail of oil, his trusted ship to burn
To scuttle her for his share of loot, the cash the Lloyds would pay
And take the long boat off to shore, safe home to Biscay Bay

But a sudden mist came from the west, and it turned the moon to black
The Kelly twitched, and the sudden pitch sent the captain on his back
The fire flew, and the frantic crew watched the longboat burn
From that cold mist lit by the burning sails, no sailor did return

Chorus

It was midnight on the rolling deck, I was about to go below
When from the west came an icy mist, and it chilled me to my soul
Then from abeam, as if in a dream, she drove in through the swells
With her decks afire in a ghostly pyre, and her black sails hung like veils

Now, there are sights that sailor say they see, and those they really do
But I swear on forty years at sea, that what I say is true
I saw the Kelly sail that night, through the cold and eerie haze
Her ghost crew crying from the deck, her black sails all ablaze

Chorus