Shipwreck Balladeer

I have been since seventeen a shipwreck balladeer Tragedy and misery are what makes my career Watery graves are my stock and trade, but it's getting harder For all the boats that now do float are returning safely to the harbour There hasn't been a shipwreck scene since 1965 And I find I cry each time a crew returns alive I only cheer when gales appear and threaten fresh disaster They pass by, the boat survives, only my career's in tatters They're building ships too good today, and I'm the one who suffers They don't get rent from aft to stern and their hulls never rupture Not dashed on rocks and never tossed to heaven on a wave You may think it well and good but my livelihood sails away There once were found, twenty in town, who wrote about shipwrecks When boats sank lots, just like rocks, 'twas good as it gets But the golden ages passed away and I'm barely survivin' The balladeers are dead I fear or workin' in advertisin' They're building ships too good today and it's hurtin' me Why can't even one poor soul fall into the dark sea And be ripped apart by hungry sharks in a bloody spree You may think it well and good, but my livelihood sails away Oh the only tragedy left to sing about is me That government bastard's been sent to take my job from me That inspector is making sure the ships are seaworthy He can try, no way will I ever give up hope When he went by, I did pry a big hole in his boat They're building ships too good today, so I helped one along How sweet it is to once again hear the tortured song Of a man afloat a sinking boat, who knows he will die today You might think it bad not good, but my livelihood's here to stay It's here to stay. It's here to staaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay