'Er keel was laid in 'seventy-four
(Let 'er go--let 'er go);
They built 'er cheap an' they scamped 'er sore,
'Er rivets was putty, 'er plates was poor,
And then come in the PLIMSOLL line
Or I wouldn't be singin' this song o' mine.
(Let 'er go!)
She was cranky an' foul, she was stubborn an' slow
(Let 'er go--let 'er go),
An' she shipped it green when it come on to blow;
'Er crews was starved an' their wage was low,
An 'er bloomin' owners was ready to faint
At a scrape o' pitch or a penn'orth o' paint.
(Let 'er go!)
But she's been 'ere an' she's been there
(Let 'er go--let 'er go),
An' she's been almost everywhere;
An' wherever you went you'd sure see _'er_,
With 'er rust-red hawse an' 'er battered old funnel,
All muck an' dirt from 'er keel to 'er gun'le.
(Let 'er go!)
She's earned 'er keep in a number o' climes
(Let 'er go--let 'er go);
She's changed 'er name a number o' times,
Which won't fit right into these 'ere rhymes,
But the name of 'er now is the _Sound o' Mull_,
Built on the Tyne an' sails out of 'Ull.
(Let 'er go!)
'Er keel was laid in 'seventy-four
(Let 'er go--let 'er go),
An' a breaker's price was 'er price before
The ships was scarce an' the freights did soar;
But she's fetched 'er fourteen pound a ton
On the Baltic Exchange since the War begun.
(Let 'er go!)
So she's doin' 'er bit, which we all must do
(Let 'er go--let 'er go),
An' whether she's old or whether she's new
Don't make much odds to a war-time crew,
But 'ooever's sunk or 'ooever's drowned,
The _Sound o' Mull_ keeps pluggin' around.
(Let 'er go!)
An' when she goes, by night or by day
(Let 'er go--let 'er go),
Either up or down, as she likely may,
I only 'ope as someone'll say:
"'Er keel was laid in 'seventy-four;
She done 'er best an' she couldn't do more;
She warn't no swell an' she warn't no beauty,
But she come by 'er end in the way of 'er duty."
(Let 'er go!) C. F. S.
* * * * *
[Illustration: "THINK WE'LL 'AVE ANOTHER CUT AT THE 'UNS BEFORE THE WAR
ENDS, JACK?"
"NO FEAR! IT SAYS 'ERE THAT 'INDENBURG'S TAKEN ALL THE ABLE-BODIED AN' PUT
'EM ON TO WORK OF NATIONAL IMPORTANCE."]
* * * * *