I swore I’d waste the summer by the dirty old quay, With a bottle for a lover, the gulls for company. But he came like the sunlight, wild, rough, and free, And the tide pulled me under as quick as can be. Oh, the summer kept our secret, Wild as the winds on the midnight sea! Like a bonfire on the harbour, We burned for the whole town to see. So fill your glass and I’ll tell it, Every kiss and every lie— That summer fling I swore was nothin’... Aye, the summer kept our secret! We danced to the fiddle down Murphy’s back lane, We drank the place dry and screamed in the rain. He kissed me like whiskey, hot, sharp, and sweet, Then vanished like smoke when the daylight did creep. He promised me stories, he promised me songs, Of a ship he’d be sailin’ and rightin’ old wrongs. But sailors spin yarns like the moon pulls the tide, And the truth slipped away when the morning arrived. Oh, the summer kept our secret, Wild as the winds on the midnight sea! Like a bonfire on the harbour, We burned for the whole town to see. So fill your glass and I’ll tell it, Every kiss and every lie— That summer fling I swore was nothin’... Aye, the summer kept our secret! Now the quay’s gone quiet, the gulls cry alone, And the nights grow colder, the daylight is flown. But his laughter still haunts me like a ghost in the foam, And the fire that we started still burns in my bones. Now it’s all cinders, a ghost in my blood, Just a name the tide took away with the flood. But I’ll not forget what the salt air gave— A love like a wound, and a heart like a grave. Oh, the summer kept our secret, We were young and we were mad! Hearts like a drunkard’s last promise, The best luck we ever had! So fill your glass and I’ll tell it, Every sin and every prayer— That summer fling I swore was nothin’... Aye, the summer kept our secret!
