The Last Shanty

Well, me father often told me when I was just a lad

A sailor's life is very hard, the food is always bad

But now I've joined the navy, I'm aboard a man-o-war

And now I've found a sailor ain't a sailor any more

Don't haul on the rope, and don't climb up the mast

And if you see a sailing ship it might be your last

Just get your civvies ready for another run ashore

A sailor ain't a sailor, ain't a sailor any more

Well, the killick of our mess, he says we had it soft

It wasn't like that in his day when he were up aloft

We like our bunks and sleeping-bags, but what's a hammock for?

Swinging from the deckhead or lying on the floor?

Don't haul on the rope, and don't climb up the mast

And if you see a sailing ship it might be your last

Just get your civvies ready for another run ashore

A sailor ain't a sailor, ain't a sailor any more

They gave us an engine that first went up and down

And then with more technology the engine went around

We know our steam and diesels, but what's a mainyard for?

A stoker ain't a stoker with a shovel any more

Don't haul on the rope, and don't climb up the mast

And if you see a sailing ship it might be your last

Just get your civvies ready for another run ashore

A sailor ain't a sailor, ain't a sailor any more

And two cans of beer a day, and that's your bleeding lot

And now I've got an extra one because they stopped the tot

So we'll put on our civvy clothes and find a pub ashore

A sailor's just a sailor, just like he was before

Don't haul on the rope, and don't climb up the mast

And if you see a sailing ship it might be your last

Just get your civvies ready for another run ashore

A sailor ain't a sailor, ain't a sailor any more

Don't haul on the rope, and don't climb up the mast

And if you see a sailing ship it might be your last

Just get your civvies ready for another run ashore

A sailor ain't a sailor, ain't a sailor any more