Shanty Man

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.