The Ship Repairing Men

Introduction Am Asus2 Am Asus2 Am Asus2 Am To the workshops off we go, toolkits heavy in our hands, C G To the big ship that's just come in from a trip to foreign lands Am C G Am Salty streaks of rust have marked her but her moorings hold her tight, C G Am And we'll work to fix her engines all the day and half the night C G Am Don't wait up for me this evening, I'll be out all night again, C G C G7 Am Working on the Brisbane River with the ship repairing men. Am Asus2 Am Oil fired boilers throb with power burnin up the furnace heat C G Water turns to driving steam to make her engines beat; Am C G Am But the feed pump's sob and wail to us cuts through all other sounds C G Am And sings a song of triumph for the valves that we have ground Am Asus2 Am Engine bearings that knocked and hammered in the wild and stormy seas C G Will be machined and fitted umtil till they run with silent ease, Am C G Am And the winch that rattles every time the piston turns it's shaft C G Am Will hum along and sing its song to men skilled in their craft. Am Asus2 Am When you see an ocean liner glide between the river banks, C G And the captain in his gold braid orders men of lesser ranks, Am C G Am Have you ever thought that stately craft might never sail again C G Am If it wasn't for the toil and sweat of ship repairing men?