All Coiled Down (So Long)
Words by Cicely Fox Smith. Music: Alan Fitzsimmonds.
(Recorded by POLES APART on The
Song Goes On)
Chorus:
All coiled down and it’s time for us to go,
Every sail’s furled in a neat, harbour stow,
Another ship for us and for her another crew,
So-long sailorman, good luck to you.
A good berth I wish you in a ship
well-found,
With a decent crowd for’d and her gear all sound,
Spars a man can trust when it’s comin’ on to blow,
And no Bos’n bawlin’ when it’s your watch below.
Fun and friends I wish you ‘til the pay’s all gone,
Pleasure while you spend it and contentment when it’s done,
A chest that’s never empty when you go back to sea,
And a better ship than she’s been … and a truer pal than me.
A good trade I wish you, and a fair landfall,
With neither fog nor iceberg, nor long calm, nor squall,
A pleasant port to come to, when the work’s all through,
So-long sailorman, good luck to you.
