Island of Souls
Billy was born within sight of the shipyardFirst son of a riveter's sonAnd Billy was raised as the ship grew a shadowHer great hull would blot out the light of the sun
And six days a week he would watch his poor fatherA working man live like a slaveHe'd drink every night and he'd dream of a futureOf money he never would saveAnd Billy would cry when he thought of the future
Soon came a day when the bottle was brokenThey launched the great ship out to seaHe felt he'd been left on a desolate shoreTo a future he desperately wanted to fleeWhat else was there for a riveter's sonA new ship to be built, new work to be done
One day he dreamed of a ship in the worldIt would carry his father and heTo a place they would never be foundTo a place far away from his town
Trapped in the cage of a skeleton shipAll the workmen suspended like fliesCuaght in the flare of acetylene lightA working man works till the industry diesAnd Billy would cry when he thought of the future
Then what they call an industrial accidentCrushed those it couldn't forgiveThey brought Billy's father back home in an ambulanceA brass watch, a cheque, maybe three weeks to liveAnd what else was there for a riveter's sonA new ship to be built, new work to be done
That night, he dreamed of a ship in the worldIt would carry his father and heTo a place they would never be foundTo a place far away from his townA Newcastle ship without coalsThey would sail to the island of souls