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He sits on the front porch and looks at the sea,
Said things sure have changed from what they used to be;
I remember a time when we sailed with the wind,
Back in the days of wooden ships and iron men.
Back a few years ago the men all had pride,
When fish from the sea kept our families alive;
Now there's oil on the Grand Banks where fish used to swim,
Back in the days of wooden ships and iron men.
Old fishermen gather down by the seashore,
And sit reminiscing, but sails are no more;
The harbour looks empty, no flakes end to end,
Like there was in the days of wooden ships and iron men.
It's been many years now since I sailed on the sea,
But pictures are still clear in my memory,
Of the fish on the flakes and the sails in the wind,
Back in the days of wooden ships and iron men.
Now engines are humming as the men come ashore,
Their catches are small, there's no fish anymore;
And there's few left to tell of the way that it's been,
Back in the days of wooden ships and iron men.
Recorded by Lloyd Snow (Down East Country, trk#6, 1995, Lloyd Snow, Norman's Cove, NL, Landwash Distribution Company, Ltd).
