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 
fishing again 
they’re welding [bad word] scrubbing her keel 
scars on her belly need time to heal 
in the dock 
with the trawlermen 

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 [bad word] 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 skipjack 
so it’s a turnaround back in the southerly wind 
southerly wind  [bad word] in to steal our gold 
you can count yourself lucky with a profit in the hold 
in the dock when [bad word] 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