In Marton town not far from the sea
There was a young boy who grew up to be
A Yorkshire man in every way
From Whitby town to Robin Hood's Bay

At the age of 18, a labourer's son
Fit and strong and six foot one
He dreamed of a life on the wide open sea
And knew that soon that's where he would be

CHORUS
He sailed from Plymouth away from England
Cape Horn, Tahiti then Botany Bay
On the good ship Endeavour and onto where ever
The coast of Australia showed him the way

From master to captain he was just 41
Saw planet Venus transit the sun
He sailed to New Zealand as Tasman had done
Then Terra Australis the land of the sun

CHORUS

In 1770 the 11th of June
On the Great Barrier Reef by the light of the moon
The Endeavour she crashed on the rocks on the sand
The captain said we must put her to land

When the ship was repaired they set off again
Along the coast of Cape York no one knew when
How long it would be, how much further to roam
They longed for the sight of their far distant home

CHORUS (repeat)
They'd sailed from Plymouth away from England
Cape Horn, Tahiti then Botany Bay
On the good ship Endeavour and onto where ever
The coast of Australia showed them the way