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From the late Stan Rogers, "The Mary Ellen Carter". Setting a mood, perhaps:
===
She went down last October in a pouring, driving rain;
The skipper, he'd been drinking, and the mate, he felt no pain.
Too close to Three Mile Rock and she was dealt her mortal blow
And the Mary Ellen Carter settled low.
There was just us five aboard her when she finally was a-wash.
We'd worked like hell to save her all headless of the cost.
And the groan she gave as she went down, it caused us to proclaim
That the Mary Ellen Carter would rise again.
Well, the owners wrote her off; not a nickel would they spend.
"She gave twenty years of service, boys, then met her sorry end,
but insurance paid the loss to us, so let her rest below."
Then they laughed at us and said we had to go.
But we talked of her all winter, some days around the clock;
"She's worth a quarter million, afloat and at the dock."
And with every jar that hit the bar we swore we would remain
And make the Mary Ellen Carter rise again.
Chorus:
Rise again, rise again,
Let her name not be lost to the knowledge of men
All those who loved her best and were with her 'til the end
Will make the Mary Ellen Carter rise again.
All spring, now, we've been with her on a barge lent by a friend.
Three dives a day in a hard hat suit, and twice I've had the bends.
Thank God it's only sixty feet, and the currents here are slow
Or I'd never have the strength to go below.
But we've patched her rents, and stopped her vents,
dogged hatch and porthole down
Put cables to her fore and aft and girded her around
Tomorrow, noon, we hit the air and then take up the strain
And make the Mary Ellen Carter rise again.
Chorus
For we couldn't leave her there, you see, to crumble into scale.
She'd save our lives so many times, living through the gale,
And the laughing, drunken rats who left her to a sorry grave,
They won't be laughing in another day.
And you, to whom adversity has dealt that final blow
With smiling bastards lying to you everywhere you go
Turn to, and put out all your strength of arm and heart and brain
And, like the Mary Ellen Carter, rise again!
Last Chorus 2x
Rise again, rise again,
Though your heart, it be broken, and life about to end,
No matter what you've lost, be it a home, a love, a friend,
Like the Mary Ellen Carter, rise again!
===
Maybe you've got to hear Stan Rogers singing it to really understand.
And as for other things that need saying:
Celli. Thanks so much for the beta; sorry I conked out in the middle of our conversation last night, but the tank was frelling empty. *sigh* My bad. Mea culpa. No biscuit.
Tina. Thanks for the vibes ... no such thing as enough goodwill these days.
Horsechicks in general: even if it took you ladies hijacking my journal for the St. Valentine's Day rant, it was worth it. I *needed* that laugh I got when I logged in this afternoon, and it was the best one I've had since ... jeez, it's been a long time.
Thanks, gang. Maybe I'll be able to make it up to all of you somewhere down the line...
Close entry.
===
She went down last October in a pouring, driving rain;
The skipper, he'd been drinking, and the mate, he felt no pain.
Too close to Three Mile Rock and she was dealt her mortal blow
And the Mary Ellen Carter settled low.
There was just us five aboard her when she finally was a-wash.
We'd worked like hell to save her all headless of the cost.
And the groan she gave as she went down, it caused us to proclaim
That the Mary Ellen Carter would rise again.
Well, the owners wrote her off; not a nickel would they spend.
"She gave twenty years of service, boys, then met her sorry end,
but insurance paid the loss to us, so let her rest below."
Then they laughed at us and said we had to go.
But we talked of her all winter, some days around the clock;
"She's worth a quarter million, afloat and at the dock."
And with every jar that hit the bar we swore we would remain
And make the Mary Ellen Carter rise again.
Chorus:
Rise again, rise again,
Let her name not be lost to the knowledge of men
All those who loved her best and were with her 'til the end
Will make the Mary Ellen Carter rise again.
All spring, now, we've been with her on a barge lent by a friend.
Three dives a day in a hard hat suit, and twice I've had the bends.
Thank God it's only sixty feet, and the currents here are slow
Or I'd never have the strength to go below.
But we've patched her rents, and stopped her vents,
dogged hatch and porthole down
Put cables to her fore and aft and girded her around
Tomorrow, noon, we hit the air and then take up the strain
And make the Mary Ellen Carter rise again.
Chorus
For we couldn't leave her there, you see, to crumble into scale.
She'd save our lives so many times, living through the gale,
And the laughing, drunken rats who left her to a sorry grave,
They won't be laughing in another day.
And you, to whom adversity has dealt that final blow
With smiling bastards lying to you everywhere you go
Turn to, and put out all your strength of arm and heart and brain
And, like the Mary Ellen Carter, rise again!
Last Chorus 2x
Rise again, rise again,
Though your heart, it be broken, and life about to end,
No matter what you've lost, be it a home, a love, a friend,
Like the Mary Ellen Carter, rise again!
===
Maybe you've got to hear Stan Rogers singing it to really understand.
And as for other things that need saying:
Celli. Thanks so much for the beta; sorry I conked out in the middle of our conversation last night, but the tank was frelling empty. *sigh* My bad. Mea culpa. No biscuit.
Tina. Thanks for the vibes ... no such thing as enough goodwill these days.
Horsechicks in general: even if it took you ladies hijacking my journal for the St. Valentine's Day rant, it was worth it. I *needed* that laugh I got when I logged in this afternoon, and it was the best one I've had since ... jeez, it's been a long time.
Thanks, gang. Maybe I'll be able to make it up to all of you somewhere down the line...
Close entry.
