The port lights glow in the morning mist That rolls from the water's brim
As over the railing we grasped his fist Till the dark tide came between
We cheered the captain, cheered the crew And our mate, times out of mind
We cheered the land he was going to And the land he had left behind
For they marry and go, and the world rolls back They marry and vanish and die
But their spirit shall live on the outside track As long as the years go by
We roared Lang Syne as a last farewell But my heart seemed out of joint
I well remember the hush that fell As the steamer cleared the point
We drifted on home through the public bars We were ten times less by one
Who sailed out under the morning stars And under the rising sun
For they marry and go, and the world rolls back They marry and vanish and die
But their spirit shall live on the outside track As long as the years go by
And one by one and two by two They've sailed from the wharf since then
I've said goodbye to the best I knew The last of the careless men
And I can't but think that the times we had Were the best times after all
As I turn aside with a lonely glass And drink to the barroom wall
For they marry and go, and the world rolls back They marry and vanish and die
But their spirit shall live on the outside track As long as the years go by
Oh, their spirit shall live on the outside track As long as the years go by
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