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Three fishers went sailing out into the west,
Out into the west as the sun went down;
Each thought of the woman that loved them the best,
And the children stood watching them out on the town.
For men must work, and women must weep,
For there's little to earn, and many to keep;
And the harbour bar be moaning,
And the harbour bar be moaning.
Three wives sat up in the lighthouse tower,
And they trimmed the lamps as the sun went down;
And they looked at the squall, and they looked at the shower,
And the night rack came rolling in ragged and brown.
For men must work, and women must weep,
Though storms be sudden, and the waters be deep;
And the harbour bar a-moaning,
And the harbour bar a-moaning.
Three corpses lay out on the shining sand,
In the morning gleam as the tide went down;
And the women were weeping and wringing their hands,
For those who could never come back to town.
For men must work, and women must weep,
For the sooner it's over, the sooner the sleep;
And good-bye to the bar and its moaning,
And good-bye to the bar and its moaning.
Variant of a Charles Kingsley lament popularized by Stan Rogers' recording of an arrangement by Garnet Rogers.
See more songs by Stan Rogers.
The YouTube video above features an excellent cover performance by Jody Hale of Too Good Arm and Grand Falls-Windsor, NL.
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913):
Rack — to fly, as vapour or broken clouds. Thin, flying, broken clouds, or any portion of floating vapor in the sky. — Shakespeare
The winds in the upper region, which move the clouds above, which we call the rack, . . . pass without noise. — Bacon.
And the night rack came rolling up. — Charles Kingsley.
