OLD WOODEN BOATS - Mickey MacConnell
Video - sung by Mickey MacConnell; sung by Stewart Hendrickson
I pulled my boat to the pier at Dingle
There I met an old man long home from the sea
He caught my rope and with eyes sun-crinkled
He looked first at my boat and then at me
And he told me, Son, I've fished these waters
For eighty years, both man and boy
And I was brave, but you're much bolder
To dare to go to sea in that rich man's toy
Because that boat you stake your life on
It's fibreglass and plastic, stem to stern
It bears the beaten soul of its factory builder
For it has never known the love of a craftsman's hands
But old wooden boats scold like old mothers
When you drive them through a west of Ireland sea
Old wooden boats are like no other
For they fight for the lives of fools like you and me
He said, Old oak planks will groan and whimper
And they'll warn you when it's time to feel afraid
While a plastic hull will crack and splinter
And, with no warning, sweep you to an early grave
When the Northern Star leans on your shoulder
And it's icy anger builds a troubled sea
Then put your faith in God almighty
And in the secrets that the winds once told the trees
That old wooden boats scold like old mothers
When you drive them through a west of Ireland sea
Old wooden boats are like no other
For they fight for the lives of fools like you and me
I caught the tide in early morning
In the dawn I watched the Blaskets fall astern
And the wind recalled the old man's warning
And it asked me had I listened, had I learned
That old wooden boats scold like old mothers
When you drive them through a west of Ireland sea
Old wooden boats are like no other
For they fight for the lives of fools like you and me