Shantyman

Shantyman

Now modern ships carry mighty funny gear,

<And away, get away, you shantyman.>

Ain't seen a halyard in many's a year,

<An' they got no use for a shantyman.>

Slick new fittings are all your style,

<And away, get away, you shantyman.>

All very clever, but it just ain't right;

<An' they got no use for a shantyman.

Shantyman, oh, shantyman, Who's got a berth for a shantyman?

Sing you a song of a world gone wrong,

When they got no use for a shantyman.>

Levers to jerk and buttons to press

<And away, get away, you shantyman.>

And real live sailors they need them less;

<An' they got no use for a shantyman.>

Pushing on the buttons and hauling on the levers

<And away, get away, you shantyman.>

And they got no use for horny-handed heavers.

<...>

The cargo is stored in a polythene pack,

<And away, get away, you shantyman.>

Raised and lowered by a dry bollocks jack;

<An' they got no use for a shantyman.>

Floating computer dressed like a ship,

<And away, get away, you shantyman.>

Skippered and crewed by a micro chip.

<...>

Soon they'll be sailing by remote control,

<And away, get away, you shantyman.>

An' that'll be pleasing to the owners' souls;

<An' they got no use for a shantyman.>

They'll send their ships from dock to dock,

<And away, get away, you shantyman.>

All sat upon their arses in an office block.

<...>

New-fangled gear's no use to you

<And away, get away, you shantyman.>

When you're off Cape Horn with your fuses blew;

<An' they got no use for a shantyman.>

Then's the time for to curse the day

<And away, get away, you shantyman.>

You sent your shantyman away.

<...>

A sailor's life it once was hard,

<And away, get away, you shantyman.>

Laid out aloft on a tops'l yard;

<An' they got no use for a shantyman.>

Now it don't matter if the winds blow high;

<And away, get away, you shantyman.>

You can take force ten with your feet still dry.

<...>

Old-time ways are forgotten and gone,

<And away, get away, you shantyman.>

For no-one listens to a shantyman's song.

<An' they got no use for a shantyman.>

Things no longer as they used to be;

<And away, get away, you shantyman.>

It's the knacker's yard for the likes of me.

<...>

Listen at night and you might hear

<And away, get away, you shantyman.>

A ghostly sound on the quiet air;

<An' they got no use for a shantyman.>

Is it a ghost from the distant past,

<And away, get away, you shantyman.>

Or just a breeze in the radar mast?

<...>