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Shanty Man

Fisherman's Friends*
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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. The cargo comes stowed 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 up like a ship And away, get away, you shantyman. All skippered and crewed by a microchip 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. 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. 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. 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 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. 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 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. Listen at night and you might hear And away, get away, you shantyman. A quiet sound on the cool night 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? 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 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.