From the recording Gutter Anthems
Lyrics
Noseworthy and Piercy were two fine fishermen<br />
Off the Grand Banks of Newfoundland<br />
Oh the ocean's an angel with the face of a flounder<br />
Ah she holds the devil by the hand<br />
"Good catch to you all," calls the captain, Robert Rose<br />
The dory boats are lowered where the fathoms fall below<br />
The red sun scowls and the wind the wiser<br />
Whispering a warning o’er the lines<br />
Those who dwell ashore know nothing of the lore<br />
And the glory and the mystery of the deep<br />
Salt water in our veins and the captain at the reins<br />
Our wandering souls the freest<br />
Our wandering souls the freest of the free<br />
When the mother ship's cannon cracked the signal to return <br />
The clouds were building bastions in the swirling up above<br />
Poseidon the king and the wind his jester<br />
Dancing with the Lightning Lady Fair<br />
The black water boiled and the dory pitched and toiled<br />
Can you hear the claxon calling out your name<br />
Are we anchored to a fate to die upon the waves<br />
Far from all our family<br />
Far from all our family and friends<br />
Tiny fingers pressed against the window pane<br />
Find your father's star upon the sea<br />
Keep your faith like teeth beneath your pillow case<br />
Until the day when he returns again<br />
With breath of wind and bones of ice<br />
They cast their cries into the night<br />
Lost, alone, adrift, alive<br />
After two days and nights with the oars in the grave<br />
The two men were given for gone, gone away<br />
Bitter news, it travels well, like a schooner on a swell<br />
Their families learned the story of their fate<br />
But on the ocean high a rescue had come by<br />
And took them to the Old World on the far Atlantic side<br />
After two months gone the blessed harbour of St. John's<br />
Rolled in on the North Atlantic tide<br />
For those who dwell ashore know nothing of the lore<br />
And the glory and the mystery of the deep<br />
But when the heart is strong you'll return where you belong<br />
They made it back to Newfoundland<br />
They made it back to Newfoundland again<br />
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