BALLAD OF YARMOUTH CASTLE
(Gordon Lightfoot)

As recorded Gordon Lightfoot 1969


Well, it's four o'clock in the afternoon 
The anchors have been weighed 
>From Miami to Nassau 
She's bound across the waves.

She's a-headin' south through Biscayne Bay 
Into the open sea 
Yarmouth Castle, she's a-dyin' and don't know it.

Now the many years she's been to sea 
She's seen the better times 
She gives a groan of protest 
As they cast away her lines.

And the grumble of her engines 
And the rust along her spine 
Tells the Castle she's too old to be sailing.

But the sands run out within her heart.
A tiny spark glows red 
It smolders through the evening 
There's laughter overhead.

Now the dinner's served and the cards are dealt 
And the drinks are passed around 
Deep within the fire starts a-burnin'.

Now it's midnight on the open sea 
And the moon is shinin' bright 
Some people join the party 
And others say goodnight.
 
There's many who are sleepin' now 
It's been a busy day 
And a tiny wisp of smoke is a-risin'.

"Oh Lord," she groans, "I'm burnin'!" 
"Let someone understand" 
But her silent plea is wasted 
In the playin' of the band.

Everybody's dancin' on the deck 
And they're havin' such a time 
Then a voice says "Shut up and deal, I'm losin'".

Deep within the Yarmouth Castle 
The fire begins to glow 
It leaps into the hallways 
And climbs and twists and grows.

And the paint she wore to keep her young 
Oh Lord, how well it burns 
And soon that old fire is a-ragin'.

Well beneath the bridge, it's climbin' fast 
The captain stands aloft 
He calls up to the bosin
Says "Bosin, we are lost".

For the ragged hoses in the racks 
No pressure do they hold 
And the people down below will soon be dyin'.

All amidships, oh she's blazin' now 
It's spreadin' fore and aft 
The people are a-scramblin' 
As the fire blocks their path.

The evil smoke surrounds them 
And they're falling in their tracks 
And the captain in his lifeboat is a-leavin'.

(bridge)
  
Oh then the ship, Bahama Star 
Comes steamin' through the night 
She sees the Castle blazin' 
And 'tis a terrible sight.

"Jump down, jump down" the captain cries 
"We'll save you if we can" 
And the paint on his funnels is a-fryin'.

"God help the ones who sleep below 
And cannot find their way 
Thank God for those we've rescued 
Upon this awful day".

Now the heroes, they are many 
But the times are growin' slim 
And now from stern to bow she's a-blazin'.

Oh the Yarmouth Castle's moanin' 
She's cryin' like a child 
You can hear her if you listen 
Above the roar so wild.

Is she cryin' for the ones who lie 
Within her molten sides
Or cryin' for herself, I'm a-wonderin'.

But the livin' soon were rescued
The ones who lived to tell
And from the Star they watched her
As she died there in the swells.

Like a toy ship on a millpond 
She burned all through the night
Then slipped beneath the waves in the mornin'.



(Transcribed by David Story - April 2013)