Roy Gullane 1998
Gullane is longtime songwriter of the Tannahill Weavers.
In the city of Glasgow ’twas long in the cards
If you lived near the river you’d work in the yards
The first thing I saw when I opened my eyes
Were the muckle great cranes that reached up to the skies
Chorus:
Where we built the great ships of iron and steel
The Lizzies, the Mary, we built them right here
We built the great ships, the pride of the sea
But now there is nae work for me
And who would believe that we built the great ships?
At the end of the forties apprenticed was I
To the cream of the welders by the name of MacKay
“You’ve two ears and one mouth so listen, don’t lip
And I’ll show you young lads how we build the great ships.”
At the end of the sixties, the whole thing just died
We had marches and work-ins, my god how we tried
There was no need for highly skilled craftsmen like me
They build ships for damn all in Japan and Koree
There’s scarcely a ship now and blessed few men
As the river runs silent through Silicon Glen
For an old clapped out welder you’ll not get much thanks
Now there’s fish in the river and chips on its banks