I am just a poor boy
Though my story’s seldom told
I have squandered my resistance
For a pocket full of mumbles such are promises
All lies and jests
Still a man hears what he wants to hear
And disregards the rest

When I left my home and my family
I was no more than a boy
In the company of strangers
In the quiet of the railway station running scared
Laying low, seeking out the poorer quarters
Where the ragged people go
Looking for the places only they would know

Lie la lie …

Asking only workman’s wages
I come looking for a job
But I get no offers,
Just a come-on from the whores on Seventh Avenue
I do declare, there were times when I was so lonesome
I took some comfort there

Lie la lie …

Then I’m laying out my winter clothes
And wishing I was gone
Going home
Where the New York City winters aren’t bleeding me
Bleeding me, going home

In the clearing stands a boxer
And a fighter by his trade
And he carries the reminders
Of ev’ry glove that layed him down
Or cut him till he cried out
In his anger and his shame
“I am leaving, I am leaving”
But the fighter still remains

Lie la lie …

Hang around, Willie Boy
Don’t you raise the sails anymore
It’s for sure, I’ve spent my whole life at sea
And I’m pushin’ age seventy three
Now there’s only one place that was meant for me

Oh, to be home again
Down in old Virginny
With my very best friend
They call him Ragtime Willie
We’re gonna soothe away the rest of our years
We’re gonna put away all of our tears
That big rockin’ chair won’t go nowhere

Slow down, Willie Boy
Your heart’s gonna give right out on you
It’s true, and I believe I know what we should do
Turn the stern and point to shore
The seven seas won’t carry us no more

Oh, to be home again
Down in old Virginny
With my very best friend
They call him Ragtime Willie
I can’t wait to sniff that air
Dip’n snuff, I won’t have no care
That big Rockin’ Chair won’t go nowhere

Hear the sound, Willie Boy
The Flyin’ Dutchman’s on the reef
It’s my belief
We’ve used up all our time
This hill’s to steep to climb
And the days that remain ain’t worth a dime

Oh, to be home again
Down in old Virginny
With my very best friend
They call him Ragtime Willie
Would-a-been nice just t’see the folks
listen once again to the stale jokes
That big Rockin’ Chair won’t go nowhere

I can hear something calling on me
And you know where I want to be
Oh Willie don’t you hear that sound
Oh to be home again down in old Virginny
I just want to get my feet back on the ground
Oh to be home again down in old Virginny
I’d love to see my very best friend
They call him Rag-time Willie
I believe old rockin chair’s got me
Oh to be home again

Dirty old river, must you keep rolling
Flowing into the night
People so busy, makes me feel dizzy
Taxi light shines so bright
But I don’t need no friends
As long as I gaze on Waterloo sunset
I am in paradise

Every day I look at the world from my window
But chilly, chilly is the evening time
Waterloo sunset’s fine

Terry meets Julie, Waterloo Station
Every Friday night
But I am so lazy, don’t want to wander
I stay at home at night
But I don’t feel afraid
As long as I gaze on Waterloo sunset
I am in paradise

Every day I look at the world from my window
But chilly, chilly is the evening time
Waterloo sunset’s fine

Millions of people swarming like flies ’round Waterloo underground
But Terry and Julie cross over the river
Where they feel safe and sound
And they don’t need no friends
As long as they gaze on Waterloo sunset
They are in paradise

Waterloo sunset’s fine