[Intro] [Single rough male voice, quiet and unaccompanied] There’s a girl on the harbour wall, Where the tide runs cold and the gulls still call, She waved when I sailed and she’ll wave if I land, With the same red scarf in the same small hand. [Verse 1] I met her first by the cooper’s door, With rain in her hair and salt on the floor, She laughed at my coat and the cut of my knife, Said, “You look like a man who’ll be trouble for life,” I told her I’d sailed every ocean wide, She said, “Then you’ve nowhere left to hide,” And before the bells rang evening through, I knew I’d found what sailors lose. [Chorus] She waits on the harbour wall for me, Where the stone meets the wind and the wind meets the sea, I swear each time that I’ll come home, And swear each time I’ll no more roam, But the tide pulls hard and the blue runs wide, And a sailor’s heart is a faithless guide, So she waits where the harbour lanterns fall, My girl on the harbour wall. [Verse 2] The first time I left, she cursed my name, The second time out, she did the same, The third time she only watched me go, And somehow that hurt me more, you know, She gave me a ribbon, faded red, Said, “Tie this close when you’re near the dead,” I laughed and tucked it beneath my shirt, Then wore it through blood and smoke and hurt. [Chorus] She waits on the harbour wall for me, Where the stone meets the wind and the wind meets the sea, I swear each time that I’ll come home, And swear each time I’ll no more roam, But the tide pulls hard and the blue runs wide, And a sailor’s heart is a faithless guide, So she waits where the harbour lanterns fall, My girl on the harbour wall. [Verse 3] I’ve seen Port Royal burn at night, Seen Spanish sails in morning light, I’ve slept on decks with a loaded gun, And watched good men disappear one by one, I’ve carried silver, pearls and wine, I’ve called ten stolen fortunes mine, But none of it weighed as much at all, As one red scarf on a harbour wall. [Bridge] [Very low crew enters beneath the lead] [Lead] Does she still wait? [Crew] She waits. [Lead] Does she still wave? [Crew] She waves. [Lead] Does she still curse this wandering fool? [Crew] Every day. [Lead] Then God be kind and keep her there, Till I can see that ribbon in the air. [Verse 4] One winter voyage we lost the mast, And every man thought it his last, The waves came black above the rail, The wind tore holes through every sail, I held that ribbon in my fist, And thought of all the things I’d missed, Not gold, not rum, not victory, Just her standing there and waiting for me. [Chorus] She waits on the harbour wall for me, Where the stone meets the wind and the wind meets the sea, I swear each time that I’ll come home, And swear each time I’ll no more roam, But the tide pulls hard and the blue runs wide, And a sailor’s heart is a faithless guide, So she waits where the harbour lanterns fall, My girl on the harbour wall. [Verse 5] We limped back in on a broken tide, Seven men gone from the starboard side, The town bells rang through the evening rain, And every step ashore brought pain, I searched the wall through mist and spray, Afraid she’d finally turned away, Then through the grey I saw it fall, That little red scarf above the wall. [Break] [Lead voice almost spoken] She didn’t run. She didn’t cry. She only looked me in the eye. And said, [Soft female line imagined by the lead] “You took your time.” [Lead] I said, “I know.” [Verse 6] That night I swore by every star, I’d never sail again so far, I’d find some work beside the quay, And leave the Devil to the sea, She smiled the way she always had, Like hearing lies could make her glad, Then kissed my cheek and softly said, “You’ll sail again before I’m dead.” [Chorus] She waits on the harbour wall for me, Where the stone meets the wind and the wind meets the sea, I swear each time that I’ll come home, And swear each time I’ll no more roam, But the tide pulls hard and the blue runs wide, And a sailor’s heart is a faithless guide, So she waits where the harbour lanterns fall, My girl on the harbour wall. [Verse 7] And sure enough, before the spring, I heard the ropes and the rigging sing, The captain called, the harbour stirred, And every promise lost its word, She walked beside me to the stone, Neither of us pretending now, I tied the ribbon round my hand, And kissed her there before the sand. [Final Chorus] [Lead joined gradually by the whole crew] She waits on the harbour wall for me, Where the stone meets the wind and the wind meets the sea, No oath I make can hold me down, No gold can buy that harbour town, And if one day my ship goes wide, And I go down beneath the tide, Tell her I saw, before the fall, Her red scarf on the harbour wall. [Outro] [Single voice again] There’s a girl on the harbour wall, Where the tide runs cold and the gulls still call, And if I live, I’ll return once more. [Quiet crew] And if you don’t? [Lead] Then tell her what I was sailing for.
