There’s always a ship comes into the Clyde
On the grim last night o’ the year,
Whatever the wind, whatever the tide,
And whether it’s thick or clear.
There’s nought can keep her away from the Clyde
On the grim last night o’ the year.
There’s always a man steals down to the quay
When the year’s last hour is nigh:
A man in a fine fur coat is he,
Wi’ a gold-rimmed glass to his eye.
There’s nought can keep him away from the quay
When the year’s last hour is nigh.
He stands and peers till he catches sight
O’ the ship he knows right well;
And his brow grows wet, and his face turns white
And sad as a soul’s in hell.
‘Tis strange to be sickened and sad at the sight
O’ a ship one knows right well!
But the ship moves on to the Tail o’ the Bank,
And her sails in silence fall,
And her anchor drops wi’ never a clank
And never a bo’sun’s call.
Oh, there’s never a sound from the Tail o’ the Bank
Till the skipper his song doth bawl :—
We’re all drowned men on a foundered ship ! —
Who was her owner? Who? —
A rotten old shell, as dry as a well,
An’ painted to look like new.
We sailed away upon Hogmanay
Of eighteen-seventy-three ;
We sailed away on our last long trip,
As somebody wished It to be..
An’ down she went like a blasted sieve—
Insured for a fortune, too !
Oh, we’re all drowned men on a foundered ship !
And-who is her owner? Who?
There’s always a ship comes into the Clyde
On the grim last night o’ the year.
And a rich old man at the dark quay-side
Is shaky and sick wi’ fear. . . .
How long will that ship come into the Clyde
On the grim last night o’ the year ?
(John Joy Bell)
More Poetry from John Joy Bell:
John Joy Bell Poems based on Topics: Soul, Man, Sense & Perception, Silence, Fear, Money & Wealth, Hell, Fate & Destiny- A Little Boys Ideas (John Joy Bell Poems)
- Souls Of The Ships (John Joy Bell Poems)
- A Mariner (John Joy Bell Poems)
- Song Of A Ship (John Joy Bell Poems)
- Fog Song Of The Cloch (John Joy Bell Poems)
- Song Of A Lighter (John Joy Bell Poems)
Readers Who Like This Poem Also Like:
Based on Topics: Man Poems, Soul Poems, Sense & Perception Poems, Fear Poems, Money & Wealth Poems, Fate & Destiny Poems, Silence Poems, Hell PoemsBased on Keywords: insured, gold-rimmed, hogmanay, quay-side, and-who
- The Believer's Espousals : Chapter II. (Ralph Erskine Poems)
- Der Freischutz (Madison Julius Cawein Poems)
- Notes On Vision (James Douglas Morrison Poems)
- Paradise Regain'd : Book III. (John Milton Poems)
- Stanza's Concerning Some Persons And Things, That Are Mentioned In The Holy Scriptures (Rees Prichard Poems)