[Verse 1]
You gentlemen can watch while I'm scrubbin' the floors
And I'm scrubbin' the floors while you're gawkin'
And maybe once you tip me and it makes you feel swell
On a ratty waterfront in a ratty old hotel
And you never guess to who you're talkin'
You never guess to who you are talkin'
Suddenly one night, there's a scream in the night
And you yell, "What could that have been?"
And you see me kind of grinnin' while I'm scrubbin'
And you say, "What the hell she got to grin?"

[Chorus]
And a ship, a black freighter
With a skull on its masthead
Will be comin' in

[Verse 2]
You gentlemеn can say, "Hey girl, finish the floors
Get upstairs, makе the beds, earn your keep here"
You toss me your tips and look out at the ships
But I'm counting your heads while I make up the beds
'Cause there's nobody gonna sleep here
Tonight none of you will sleep here
Then that night there's a bang in the night
And you yell, "Who's that kickin' up a row?"
And you see me kind of starin' out the winda
And you say, "What's she got to stare at now?"
[Chorus]
And a ship, the black freighter
Turns around in the harbor
Shooting guns from the bow

[Verse 3]
Then you gentlemen can wipe off that laugh on your face
Every building in town is a flat one
Your whole stinkin' place will be down to the ground
Only this cheap hotel standin' up safe and sound
And you yell, "Why the hell spare that one?"
And you say, "Why the hell spare that one?"
All the night through with the noise and to-do
You wonder who's that person lives up there
Then you see me stepping out into the morning
Looking nice with the ribbon in my hair

[Chorus]
And a ship, a black freighter
Runs the flag up its masthead
And a cheer rings the air

[Verse 4]
By noontime the dock is all swarming with men
Coming off of that ghostly freighter
They're movin' in the shadows where no one can see
And they're chainin' up people and bringin' them to me
Asking me, "Kill 'em now or later?"
Asking me, "Kill 'em now or later?"
Noon by the clock and so still on the dock
You can hear a foghorn miles away
In that quiet of death, I'll say
"Right now"
And they'll pile up the bodies and I'll say
"That'll learn you"
[Chorus]
Then a ship, a black freighter
Disappears out to sea
And on it is me

[Outro]
Thank you
The band
Joseph Thalken, musical director