Well, with buck shot(2) eyes and a purple heart(3)
I rolled down the national stroll(4)
And with a big fat paycheck strapped to my hip-sack
And a shore leave wristwatch underneath my sleeve
In a Hong Kong drizzle(5) on Cuban heels(6)
I rowed down the gutter to the Blood Bank
And I'd left all my papers on the Ticonderoga(7)
And I was in bad need of a shave
I slopped at the corner on cold chow mein
And shot billiards with a midget until the rain stopped
And I bought a long sleeved shirt with horses on the front
And some gum and a lighter and a knife
And a new deck of cards with girls on the back
And I sat down and wrote a letter to my wife
And I said, baby, I'm so far away from home
And I miss my baby so
I can't make it by myself
I love you so
And I was pacing(8) myself, trying to make it all last
Squeezing all the life out of a lousy two-day pass
And I had a cold one(9) at the Dragon with some Filipino floor show
And I talked baseball with a lieutenant over a Singapore Sling(10)
And I wondered how the same moon outside over this Chinatown fair
Could look down on Illinois and find you there(11)
I know I love you, baby
And I'm so far away from home
I'm so far away from home
Yeah, I miss my baby so
I can't make it by myself
I love you so
Shore Leave, shore leave, shore leave, shore leave, shore leave
shore Leave, shore leave, shore leave, shore leave, shore leave
shore Leave, shore leave, shore leave, shore leave, shore leave
shore Leave, shore leave
I rolled down the national stroll(4)
And with a big fat paycheck strapped to my hip-sack
And a shore leave wristwatch underneath my sleeve
In a Hong Kong drizzle(5) on Cuban heels(6)
I rowed down the gutter to the Blood Bank
And I'd left all my papers on the Ticonderoga(7)
And I was in bad need of a shave
I slopped at the corner on cold chow mein
And shot billiards with a midget until the rain stopped
And I bought a long sleeved shirt with horses on the front
And some gum and a lighter and a knife
And a new deck of cards with girls on the back
And I sat down and wrote a letter to my wife
And I said, baby, I'm so far away from home
And I miss my baby so
I can't make it by myself
I love you so
And I was pacing(8) myself, trying to make it all last
Squeezing all the life out of a lousy two-day pass
And I had a cold one(9) at the Dragon with some Filipino floor show
And I talked baseball with a lieutenant over a Singapore Sling(10)
And I wondered how the same moon outside over this Chinatown fair
Could look down on Illinois and find you there(11)
I know I love you, baby
And I'm so far away from home
I'm so far away from home
Yeah, I miss my baby so
I can't make it by myself
I love you so
Shore Leave, shore leave, shore leave, shore leave, shore leave
shore Leave, shore leave, shore leave, shore leave, shore leave
shore Leave, shore leave, shore leave, shore leave, shore leave
shore Leave, shore leave