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He gazes at the lights as they flicker 'cross the cove,
From the windows down around shore;
His heart feels sad for tomorrow he must go,
To where his steel cage will toss and will roll.
Where wet snow falls on grey wharf planks,
And the north wind cuts like daggers;
And young men go where no men should,
To serve their time on draggers.
And 'tis ten days on and two days off,
Sideways up and then down;
And men have to go where the wind drove the snow,
'Cause there's no work back home on the land.
And the young wife yearns for the touch of a hand,
And the little child cries for her daddy;
And Mom thinks the worst and she worries late at night,
And Dad knows 'tis no place to be.
And he wonders every time if his son will return,
Or if he'll go like his poor brother John,
When wet snow fell on grey wharf planks,
And the north wind spread grim rumours;
And young men went where no men should,
To serve their time on schooners.
And 'tis ten days on and two days off,
Sideways up and then down;
And men have to go where the wind drove the snow,
'Cause there's no work back home on the land.
