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