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
they're welding her rudder
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 ain't running 
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
pirates coming in 
to steal our gold
you can count yourself lucky 
with a profit in the hold 
in the dock
when we come 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