He Drinks Alone

Lyrics

[Verse 1] I got a little shop on the waterfront I open every spring And I cater to the tourist crowd Well, they'll buy up anything [Verse 2] And in the bar next door there's a string band They play those old Nantucket songs Ah, put a grown man to sleep Well Christ, they're ninety-nine verses long [Chorus] When I was young, I went to sea When I was young, fishing was the life for me [Verse 3] From the back door of the bar next door I can look out on the bay And watch the trawlers coming in I watch for my son's boat that way [Verse 4] One by one they tie up The samе story's always told Between the quotas and the forеign fleets There's no way to fill the holds [Chorus] When I was young, I went to sea When I was young, fishing was the life for me [Verse 5] And I was thirty-nine years old When I quit my life at sea Well, that was the only thing My wife ever asked of me [Verse 6] And back then the North Atlantic Could bring a man a decent wage Well, I've tried to tell my son that But you can't talk to those his age [Chorus] When I was young, I went to sea When I was young, fishing was the life for me [Verse 7] I got a little shop on the waterfront Keeps me in smokes and gin I keep a place in my business open For when my son wants to come on in [Chorus] When I was young, I went to sea When I was young, fishing was the life for me