The Trawlerman's Song
Weâre taking on water
Diesel and stores
Laying up awhile
Before iâm back on board
Theyâre patching her up
To go fishing again
Theyâre welding her rudder
Scrubbing her keel
Scars on her belly
Need time to heal
In the dock
With the trawlermen
I know all the people
Thereâs nobody new
Soon weâll be leaving
With the same old crew
On the green water
The tumbling sea
They ainât running
Like the good old days
Timeâs just slipping
Down the old slipways
In the dock
So dear to me
Dark is the night
I need a guiding light
To keep me
From foundering
On the rocks
My only prayer
Is just to see you there
At the end
Of my wandering
Back in the dock
I could use a layoff
Getting my strength back
But thereâs a loan to pay off
And a few skipjack
So itâs a turnaround
Back in the southerly wind
Pirates coming in
To steal our gold
You can count yourself lucky
With a profit in the hold
In the dock
When we come in
Dark is the night
I need a guiding light
To keep me
From foundering
On the rocks
My only prayer
Is just to see you there
At the end
Of my wandering
Back in the dock