Now, modern ships carry mighty fine gear And away, get away, you shanty man
It's in a hard form and it's a year And they've got no use for a shanty man
Slick new fittings are all your style And away, get away, you shanty man
All very clever, but they just ain't right And they've got no use for a shanty man
Shanty man, oh, shanty man Who's got a birth for a shanty man?
Sing you a song of a world gone wrong When they've got no use for a shanty man
Levers to pull and buttons to press And away, get away, you shanty man
Real-life sails, you need them less And they've got no use for a shanty man
Floating computer, dressed as a ship And away, get away, you shanty man
Skippered and crewed by a microchip And they've got no use for a shanty man
Shanty man, oh, shanty man Who's got a birth for a shanty man?
Sing you a song of a world gone wrong When they've got no use for a shanty man
Soon they'll be sailing by remote control And away, get away, you shanty man
That'll be pleasing for the owner's soul And they've got no use for a shanty man
Send the ships from dock to dock And away, get away, you shanty man
While Santa Panaross is in an office block And they've got no use for a shanty man
Shanty man, oh, shanty man Who's got a birth for a shanty man?
Sing you a song of a world gone wrong When they've got no use for a shanty man
No fangle gears, no use to you And away, get away, you shanty man
When you're off Cape Horn with your fizzies blue And they've got no use for a shanty man
Then's the time you rue the day And away, get away, you shanty man
You sent your shanty man away And they've got no use for a shanty man
Shanty man, oh, shanty man Who's got a birth for a shanty man?
Sing you a song of a world gone wrong When they've got no use for a shanty man
A sailor's life once was hard And away, get away, you shanty man
All laid out aloft on a top-sell yard And they've got no use for a shanty man
Now it don't matter if the wind blow high And away, get away, you shanty man
You can take force ten with your feet still dry And they've got no use for a shanty man
Shanty man, oh, shanty man Who's got a birth for a shanty man?
Sing you a song of a world gone wrong When they've got no use for a shanty man
Listen that night that you might hear And away, get away, you shanty man
A ghostly sound on a cool night air And they've got no use for a shanty man
Was it a ghost from a distant past? And away, get away, you shanty man
Or just a breeze in a radar mask And they've got no use for a shanty man
Shanty man, oh, shanty man Who's got a birth for a shanty man?
Sing you a song of a world gone wrong When they've got no use for a shanty man
Shanty man, oh, shanty man Who's got a birth for a shanty man?
Sing you a song of a world gone wrong When they've got no use for a shanty man