Oooh, wake her! Oh, shake her! – Kiss your gal good-bye,
So earl-eye in the morn-ing, with the moon still in the sky.

Chorus:
Oooh, wake her! Oh, shake her! – It's time to roll and go;
We've a long road to travel, 'fore we reach Ro-sa-ri-o!

Oooh, wake her! Oh, shake her! - Blue Peter's flying free;
The pilot's come aboard her, and she's hungry for the sea. (Chorus)

Oooh, wake her! Oh, shake her! – The cable surges in,
To a roaring shanty chorus we make that capstan spin. (Chorus)

Oooh, wake her! Oh, shake her! – See her gather way;
Now she splits the rollers in a rainbow cloud of spray, (Chorus)

Oooh, wake her! Oh, shake her! – It's farewell to the shore,
With the north wind in her tops'ls, and the whole wide world before! (Chorus)

Oooh, wake her! Oh, shake her! – And steady as you go;
We've a long road to travel, 'fore we reach Rosario!

Early in the morning as the moon was in the sky,
Early in the morning I kissed my girl goodbye,
For kissing-time is over and it's time and time to go
When you've a long road to travel to Rosario!

Oh wake her, oh shake her! And the Peter's flying free,
And the pilot's come aboard her, and she's hungry for the sea.
Kissing time is over; And it's time and time to go
And "a long road to travel to Rosario!"

Summer'll soon be over, the leaves'll fade and die,
And white on every furrow the winter snows'll lie,
But we're bound for the long furrows where never lies the snow,
And we've a long road to travel to Rosario!

Oh wake her – oh shake her! And the cable surges in
To the roar of a chanty chorus as we make the handspikes spin.
Oh she's bound for the long furrows where never lies the snow.
And "a long road to travel to Rosario!"

And now she smells the deep sea, and now she's gathering way,
And now she meets the rollers in a white smother of spray,
Sou'west an' a half west, and steady as we go,
And "a long road to travel to Rosario!"

Oh, wake her – oh, shake her! – and it's good-bye to the shore,
With the north wind in her topsails, and the whole wide world before…
Sou'west an' a half west, and steady as you go….
And a long road to travel to Rosario!"

Notes:

Oh, wake her – oh, shake her! – and it's good-bye to the shore,
With the north wind in her topsails, and the whole wide world before…
Sou'west an' a half west, and steady as you go….
For we've a long road to travel to Rosario!

Rosario is a small port in Argentina up the Rio de la Plata and Parana to which Capt. Lincoln Colcord sailed with his family in the barkentine Clara E. McGilvery in 1889 to deliver and pick up cargo.

Stan Hugill in his book SAILORTOWN, p. 244, describes the difficult passage up the river to Rosario:

Rosario de Santa Fe – the "Rosary of Holy Faith" – lies a long way up the Rio Plata and Parana. Nevertheless, in the seventies and eighties, and even later, windbags made the long tedious trip up the river to load grain or Quebracho-wood. They usually anchored every night, and would take from six to thirty days to do the passage. It must be remembered that in those days there were no tugs to be had.

The line "Oh, wake her – oh, shake her!" is borrowed from the traditional shanty "Johnny Come Down to Hilo."