If the ocean was whiskey and I was a duck,
I’d swim to the bottom and never come up.
But the ocean ain’t whiskey and I ain’t no duck,
So I’ll play Jack-O-Diamonds and trust to my luck.
For it’s whiskey, rye whiskey, rye whiskey, I cry,
If I don’t get rye whiskey, I surely will die.
If I never reach bottom or sometimes come up,
Then the ocean ain’t whiskey or I ain’t a duck.
But my luck can’t be trusted or the cards I’ll not buck,
So the ocean is whiskey or I am a duck.
For it’s whiskey, rye whiskey, rye whiskey, I cry,
If my death is uncertain then I get whiskey (rye).