I have been since seventeen a shipwreck balladeer
Tragedy and misery are what makes my career
Watery graves are my stock and trade, but it's getting harder
For all the boats that now do float are returning safely to the harbour
There hasn't been a shipwreck scene since 1965
They're building ships too good today, and I'm the one who suffers
They don't get rent from aft to stern and their hulls never rupture
Not dashed on rocks and never tossed to heaven on a wave
You may think it well and good but my livelihood sails away
There once were found, twenty in town, who wrote about shipwrecks
Oh the only tragedy left to sing about is me
That government bastard's been sent to take my job from me
It's here to stay. It's here to staaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay