Shipyard

[Verse 1] Ah, my name is Jackie White and I'm foreman of the yard And you don't mess with Jackie on this quayside Why I'm as hard as iron plate, woe betide you if you're late When we have to push the boat out on a spring tide Now you could die and hope for Heaven, but you'd need to work your shift And I'd expect you all to back us to the hilt And if St. Peter at his gate were to ask you why you're late Why you'd tell him that you had to get a ship built We built battleships and cruisers for Her Majesty the Queen Super tankers for Onassis, and all the classes in between We built the greatest shipping tonnage that the world has ever seen [Chorus] And the only life we've known is in the shipyard [Verse 2] All the platters and the welders, and the boiler making crews When they see that bugger finished on the slipway All the hardship's soon forgot and we'll cheer as like as not And the bairns will wave their Union Jacks all day It's a patriotic scene, all that's missing is the Queen But she said she couldn't make it of a Tuesday Then something wells up here inside, and you could take it in your stride But you wonder if you'll see another payday For there's a mixture of emotions, hatred, gratitude and pride And you hate yourself for crying but it's difficult to hide For there's a sadness in the leaving and you worry what's ahead And that worry never leaves you, keeps on nagging in your head And so you pray to God for orders, but you'll worry until you're dead Until they bury your remains in the blacksmith's shed [Chorus] [Bridge] Steel in the stockyard Iron in the soul We'll conjure up a ship where there used to be a hole And I don't know what we'll do if this yard gets sold [Chorus]