List of Songs ~ Charlie Ipcar Home Page
Words & music by Mike Kennedy © 2010
Words slightly revised by Charlie Ipcar 5/19/11
Printable version ~ PDF ~ MP3 Sample ~ Original song by Mike Kennedy
Three times 'round the capstan, the cable takes the strain,
As we pulled her from the pier side and out into the lane,
And she rose up oh so gently, on the early morning tide,
As straightway down the Channel, Angelina, she did glide.
They said we had to move her, we had to move her soon,
As the frost of late October cast its rings around the moon;
So we led her through the Tickle, then let the cable play,
Turned her to the south-south-west, out across the Bay.
We left the land behind us, far out on the grounds;
As the wind died to a whisper, we swung her full around;
We were on a painted ocean, beneath a painted sky;
In the gray light of the morning, we came to say good-bye.
She was old when we first met her; old when we were young;
Our lives were all before us, hers was all but run,
But we were all enchanted by her lines and sheer,
And if fortune stood against us, well, we really didn't care.
We calked her and we scrubbed her, mended every line,
And we learned to sail her smartly, though it took a bit of time;
We were masters of the world, of wind and sea and sky,
And for six good years we sailed her; then it was good-bye.
We took her to the back bay, tied her up at old Gayle's pier;
Gayle, he looked after her for more than twenty years,
And then we got this letter sayin' Gayle had passed away,
And they'd sold the land for condos and they said she couldn't stay.
I opened up her sea cocks and then cast off the line,
And I thought for just a moment when we were in our prime,
And I felt the deck rock gently, with the movement of the tide,
As I climbed down to the towboat, and pushed off from her side.
We circled once around her, the water ebbed and flowed,
As the sea commenced to fill her, she began to settle low,
And when it reached her timber ports, she gave a quiet sigh,
As her bow sank ever lower, and her stern rose to the sky.
Then Nor, he cut the engine, we drifted with the swell,
As the sea birds circled over, with the mewing of the gulls,
And Mike, he flaked out the line, the last of the tow,
As she leaned her port rail under, I said "There she goes."
We stood there for a moment, caught as in a trance,
As she curtsied like a lady at a spring cotillion dance,
And now she's on the bottom with the fishes of the sea;
May she be as good a home to them, as she's been a home for me. (2X)
Three times 'round the capstan, the cable takes the strain,
As we pulled her from the pier side and out into the lane,
And she rose up oh so gently, on the rising morning tide,
As slowly down the Channel, Angelina, she did glide.
They said we had to move her, oh, we had to move her soon,
As the frost of late October cast its rings around the moon;
So we led her through the Tickle, then let the cable play,
Turned her to the south-south-west, and out across the Bay.
We headed down the Channel, out upon the grounds,
As the wind died to a whisper, we swung her full around;
We were on a painted ocean, beneath a painted sky,
In the gray light of the morning, we came to say good-bye.
She was old when we met her; old when we were young;
Our lives were all before us, and hers was all but run,
But we were all enchanted by her lines and sheer,
And if fortune stood against us, well, we really didn't care.
We calked her and we scrubbed her, we mended every line,
And we learned to sail her smartly, though it took a bit of time;
We were masters of the world, of wind and sea and sky,
And for six good years we sailed her; then we said good-bye.
They took her to the back bay, tied her up at Gayle's pier;
Gayle, he looked after her for more than twenty years,
And then we got the letter sayin' Gayle had passed away,
And they'd sold the land for condos and they said she couldn't stay.
Now Lee, he's out in Illinois; Gordon's up in Maine;
Nor, me and Charlie are all that here remain;
How we'd sit there in her cabin and sing into the dawn;
Larry's now a doctor; Stan and Bill are gone.
I opened up the sea cocks and then cast off the line,
And I thought just for a moment of when we were in our prime,
And I felt the deck rock gently, with the movement of the tide,
As I climbed down to the towboat, and I pushed off from her side.
We circled once around her, as the water ebbed and flowed,
As the sea commenced to fill her, she began to settle low,
And when it reached the timber ports, she gave a quiet sigh,
As the bow sank ever lower, and the stern rose to the sky.
Then Nor, he cut the engine, and we drifted with the swell,
As the sea birds circled overhead, with the mewing of the gulls,
And Charlie, he flaked out the line, the last of the tow,
As she leaned her port rail under, Nor said "There she goes."
And we stood there for a moment, caught as in a trance,
As she curtsied like a lady at a spring cotillion dance,
And now she's on the bottom with the fishes of the sea;
May she be as good a home to them, as she's been a home to me.