Lyrics
One More Pull
Maritime-themed Song
Lyrics by Ken Stephens, Music by Ian Woods (RIP) and Ken Stephens
Ken Stephens endorsed our recording of this song. At the Falmouth Maritime Music Festival in 2017 he told Christie Dalby (who sings the lead on our version of this song) that he had more pieces for us to consider performing.
Giant combers, ocean rollers,
Living waves upon the sea.
But for us, boys, there’s no future.
It’s not like it used to be.
CHORUS: One more pull, boys. That’ll do, boys.
Soon we’ll draw alongside.
Hoist her upwards. Swing her inboard,
For the journey’s nearly o’er.
Iceland’s dangers, Greenland’s fog banks,
Northern storm’s intensity,
It’s all gone now. Turn her homeward,
For the market won’t reach the fee. CHORUS
No more codfish off Newfoundland
Dancing silver down the hatch.
Drifters, trawlers and purse seiners
All laid up or sold for scrap. CHORUS
So heave the line, boys, one last time, now.
Then we’ll have the final trawl.
No need to wonder where it’s all gone to.
Only time to heave ‘n’ haul. CHORUS
WHERE TO FIND IT
Song Notes
We have been listening to our friends Ian Tupling and Chris Lock perform this song at festivals across Europe. We finally sat down and evolved an arrangement suitable to our own idiom. There is a fascinating backstory to the writing of this song that Christie will share with us here soon. In the meanwhile feel free to scan the lively forum of Mudcat Café to find out more.