The Downeaster "Alexa"
Well I'm on the Downeaster AlexaAnd I'm cruising through Block Island SoundI have charted a course to the VineyardBut tonight I am Nantucket bound
We took on diesel back in Montauk yesterdayAnd left this morning from the bell in Gardiner's BayLike all the locals here I've had to sell my homeToo proud to leave I worked my fingers to the bone
So I could own my Downeaster AlexaAnd I go where the ocean is deepThere are giants out there in the canyonsAnd a good captain can't fall asleep
I've got bills to pay and children who need clothesI know there's fish out there but where God only knowsThey say these waters aren't what they used to beBut I've got people back on land who count on me
So if you see my Downeaster AlexaAnd if you work with the rod and the reelTell my wife I am trolling AtlantisAnd I still have my hands on the wheel
Now I drive my Downeaster AlexaMore and more miles from shore every yearSince they tell me I can't sell no stripersAnd there's no luck in swordfishing here
I was a bayman like my father was beforeCan't make a living as a bayman anymoreThere ain't much future for a man who works the seaBut there ain't no island left for islanders like me