Shel Silverstein
The Waves Roll Out
[Verse 1]
Oh, come along boys, I'll sing you a song
About the days when the fish were thick, and I was young and strong
We set sail one morning in the teeth of a howling wind
[Chorus]
And the waves roll out, and the waves roll in
And the waves roll out, and the waves roll in
[Verse 2]
Then late that night, there rose a gale
And it snapped the mast like a stick of wood, and it ripped the sail
You should've seen the compass whirl as the ship began to spin
[Chorus]
And the waves roll out, and the waves roll in
And the waves roll out, and the waves roll in
[Verse 3]
Then the sea turned red, and the sky went white
And I heard a weird and wailing cry tear through the night
And the sea opened up like a gaping mouth and pulled us screaming in
[Chorus]
And the waves roll out, and the waves roll in
And the waves roll out, and the waves roll in
[Verse 4]
And there I saw on the ocean floor
The sailors drowned and dead for thirty years or more
Their bony skinless toothless jaws in a ghostly ghastly grin
[Chorus]
And the waves roll out, and the waves roll in
And the waves roll out, and the waves roll in
[Verse 5]
And every eye turned toward the shore
And every leg was chained there to the ocean floor
And each cried out for the ones on land they'd never see again
[Chorus]
And the waves roll out, and the waves roll in
And the waves roll out, and the waves roll in
[Verse 6]
Their ghostly eyes burned through the sea
And each one screamed and reached a bony hand for me
Crying, "This is the grave of the sailors damned to pay for a life of sin"
[Chorus]
And the waves roll out, and the waves roll in
And the waves roll out, and the waves roll in
[Verse 7]
The morning found me by the shore
And none believed I was the man who'd sailed the day before
My hair was white, my eyes were old, and I was bent and thin
[Chorus]
And the waves roll out, and the waves roll in
And the waves roll out, and the waves roll in
[Verse 8]
So bully boys, you've heard my song
About the days when the fish were thick and I was young and strong
I've told of the curse that waits for you if you hold to your life of sin
[Outro]
And the waves roll out, and the waves roll in
And the waves roll in