We’re taking on water, diesel, and stores Laying up awhile before I’m back on board They’re patching her up to go fishing again
They’re welding her rudder scrubbing her keel Scars on her belly need time to heal In the dock with the trawler men
I know all the people there’s nobody new Soon we’ll be leaving with the same old crew On the green water the tumbling sea
They ain’t running like the good old days Time’s just slipping down the old slipways In the dock so dear to me
Dark is the night I need a guiding light to keep me From foundering on the rocks My only prayer Is just to see you there at the end Of my wandering back in the dock
I could use a layoff getting my strength back But there’s a loan to pay off and a few skip jack So it’s a turnaround back in the southerly wind
Pirates coming in to steal our gold You can count yourself lucky with a profit in the hold In the dock when we come in
Dark is the night I need a guiding light to keep me From foundering on the rocks My only prayer Is just to see you there at the end Of my wandering Back in the dock