The Whitby Way

 Down in Whitby where the black ships lie 

With coal-dark hulls and a salt-cold sky 

There’s a line of lads with a rope in hand 

Learning the pull of the sea and sand

 The wind cuts sharp off the northern tide 

And the deck runs slick where the breakers ride 

If you can’t stand fast, you won’t last long 

So you learn real quick or you’re just gone wrong  

 Hey! Whitby wind and the coal-black rain 

Tar in your hands and salt in your veins 

Pull that line, don’t beg, don’t pray 

The sea makes men the Whitby way  

Hey! Stamp it down and haul again 

No soft hands on a Whitby man 

You came a boy but you won’t stay 

The sea takes boys and makes them pay 

 There’s a shout on deck and a curse below 

As the yards swing wide in the rising blow 

You brace that line or you lose your grip 

And the North Sea takes you clean from the ship  

The old hands laugh when you slip and fall 

Say “He’ll learn, or he won’t at all” 

And the stars come out through the freezing air 

But you’re too damn tired to even care 

 Hey! Whitby wind and the coal-black rain 

Tar in your hands and salt in your veins 

Pull that line, don’t beg, don’t pray 

The sea makes men the Whitby way  

Hey! Stamp it down and haul again 

No soft hands on a Whitby man 

You came a boy but you won’t stay 

The sea takes boys and makes them pay 

 There’s a quiet lad with a watchful eye 

Marks the course by the star and sky 

While the others drink and the others roar 

He’s counting miles from shore to shore  

With a hand on rope and a mind on chart 

And a fire growing behind the heart 

From the coal-black decks to the open sea 

He’s learning what he’s meant to be 

 Hey! Whitby wind and the coal-black rain 

Tar in your hands and salt in your veins 

Pull that line, don’t beg, don’t pray 

The sea makes men the Whitby way  

Hey! Stamp it down and haul again 

No soft hands on a Whitby man 

You came a boy but you won’t stay 

The sea takes boys… 

and makes them stay