Have you heard of the ship, called the good Reuben James   Run by hard fighting men, both of honor and fame   She flew the stars and stripes for the land of the free   But tonight she's in her grave at the bottom of the sea      Oh, tell me what were their names, tell me what were their names   Did you have a friend on the good Reuben James?   Tell me what were their names, tell me what were their names   Did you have a friend on the good Reuben James?      One hundred men went down to their dark and watery graves   When that good ship went down only forty-four were saved   T'was the last of October, they save the forty-four   From the dark, icy waters of that cold Iceland shore      Oh, tell me what were their names, tell me what were their names   Did you have a friend on the good Reuben James?   Tell me what were their names, tell me what were their names   Did you have a friend on the good Reuben James?      It was there in the dark, of that cold and water night   They watched for the U-Boats, they waited for a fight   Then a whine and a rock and a great explosion's roar   They laid the Reuben James on that cold ocean floor      Oh, tell me what were their names, tell me what were their names   Did you have a friend on the good Reuben James?   Tell me what were their names, tell me what were their names   Did you have a friend on the good Reuben James?      Many years have passed since those brave men are gone   Those cold, icy waters, they're still and they're calm   Many years have passed and still I wonder why   The worst of men must fight and the best of men must die      Oh, tell me what were their names, tell me what were their names   Did you have a friend on the good Reuben James?   Tell me what were their names, tell me what were their names   Did you have a friend on the good Reuben James?