[Intro] [Low cramped voices, close together] Water in the hold. (WATER IN THE HOLD.) How deep? (ANKLE DEEP.) How fast? (FASTER.) [Verse 1] Fifteen men below the deck, Cold black water to the neck, Pump her hard and pass the pail, Hear the timbers groan and wail, No sky above and no wind known, Only wood and iron and bone, If the sea gets through this floor, Fifteen men come up no more. [Chorus] Pump, boys, pump, keep the black sea down, Pump till your hands go red and brown, Breathe when you can and curse when slow, There’s fifteen men still down below, Pump, boys, pump, don’t let her win, The sea wants out and the sea wants in, Keep that rhythm, hold that flow, Fifteen men still down below. [Verse 2] The lantern swings from beam to beam, Someone laughs like in a dream, Tom says water’s at his knee, Ned says, “That’s because you’re three feet three,” No man smiles for very long, The hull gives out another groan, Then through the dark the bosun cries, “Keep that pump and keep your eyes!” [Work Chant] Pump! (PUMP!) Pass! (PASS!) Bail! (BAIL!) FAST! Hold that line! (HOLD IT!) Block that seam! (BLOCK IT!) Hear that crack? (HEARD IT!) DON’T YOU SCREAM! [Verse 3] Then one plank bows and water sprays, Hard and white through splintered stays, Three men throw their shoulders in, Two more drive the wedges thin, Someone prays and someone swears, Someone asks if daylight’s there, No one answers, all we know, Is fifteen men are still below. [Chorus] Pump, boys, pump, keep the black sea down, Pump till your hands go red and brown, Breathe when you can and curse when slow, There’s fifteen men still down below, Pump, boys, pump, don’t let her win, The sea wants out and the sea wants in, Keep that rhythm, hold that flow, Fifteen men still down below. [Bridge] [Very low, exhausted voices] How many standing? (TWELVE.) How many hurt? (THREE.) How many leaving? (NONE.) How much water? (TOO MUCH.) [Verse 4] At last the hammering rain grows small, The ship still shudders, but not all, The pump runs clear, the leak runs slow, And somewhere up above they know, The hatch swings wide, the daylight falls, Like heaven through the timber walls, Fifteen men look up and grin, Not because they won— Because they’re in. [Final Chorus] Pump, boys, pump, one last time, Keep it steady, hold the line, The storm can howl, the deep can grow, But fifteen men came up below, Pump, boys, pump, remember well, How close we sailed beside the bell, And if the black sea calls once more, We’ll meet her waiting at the floor.
