Stroke by JoeProAI

[Chorus: shantyman male lead, the floor toms stomping on every stroke]
Call me stroke, I set the pace, I'm the first oar in the sea
Every man behind me pulls the second he sees me
They told me in the hospital I'd had a stroke, and I cried
Now I am the stroke, boys, and the ocean's on our side

[Verse 2: shantyman male lead, the mandolin driving over the kick]
In the gym at the rehab, there's a girl named Annie Shaw
And she sits me at a rower, and she says, "Just pull, that's all"
And the right hand pulls, and the left hand follows, slow
Like a dog behind its master, like it's learnin' where to go
Then a year, and it's a club boat, and it's me and three young men
And they put me in the stern seat, and they say, "You set it, then"
'Cause the stroke's the seat that sets the time for every man aboard
And I laughed so hard I cried, boys, at the doctor's ugly word

[Verse 3: shantyman male lead, day forty, the storm]
Three thousand miles of water from the Canaries to the west
Day forty and a black squall with the rudder line in a mess
Twenty-foot gray hills behind us, and the boat is on its side
And three men behind are watchin' me, and they'll go where I decide
So I pull, and they pull, and the left hand doesn't stall
And the old word in my chest is the strongest word of all

[Bridge: shantyman male lead, the breakwater turn, the whole band swinging wide]
Day fifty-two, and there's the island, there's the harbor in the sun
There's the breakwater at English Harbour, and we've nearly done
Round the stones and into stillwater with the people on the quay
And Annie Shaw is on the wall there, and she's wavin' down at me

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[Verse 1: Shantyman male lead, one strong voice calling over the stomping kick] I went down in my kitchen with the kettle on the boil And my left side went to water, and my mouth went thick as oil Woke up in a white room with a doctor at my bed "You have had a stroke," he told me, and I heard it in my head Took a month to say my name right, took a year to hold a spoon Took the stairs one at a time like a man walkin' on the moon And my left hand lay beside me like a glove that wasn't mine And I prayed for it to answer, and it answered half the time [Chorus: shantyman male lead, the floor toms stomping on every stroke] Call me stroke, I set the pace, I'm the first oar in the sea Every man behind me pulls the second he sees me They told me in the hospital I'd had a stroke, and I cried Now I am the stroke, boys, and the ocean's on our side [Verse 2: shantyman male lead, the mandolin driving over the kick] In the gym at the rehab, there's a girl named Annie Shaw And she sits me at a rower, and she says, "Just pull, that's all" And the right hand pulls, and the left hand follows, slow Like a dog behind its master, like it's learnin' where to go Then a year, and it's a club boat, and it's me and three young men And they put me in the stern seat, and they say, "You set it, then" 'Cause the stroke's the seat that sets the time for every man aboard And I laughed so hard I cried, boys, at the doctor's ugly word [Chorus: shantyman male lead, the floor toms stomping on every stroke] Call me stroke, I set the pace, I'm the first oar in the sea Every man behind me pulls the second he sees me They told me in the hospital I'd had a stroke, and I cried Now I am the stroke, boys, and the ocean's on our side [Verse 3: shantyman male lead, day forty, the storm] Three thousand miles of water from the Canaries to the west Day forty and a black squall with the rudder line in a mess Twenty-foot gray hills behind us, and the boat is on its side And three men behind are watchin' me, and they'll go where I decide So I pull, and they pull, and the left hand doesn't stall And the old word in my chest is the strongest word of all [Bridge: shantyman male lead, the breakwater turn, the whole band swinging wide] Day fifty-two, and there's the island, there's the harbor in the sun There's the breakwater at English Harbour, and we've nearly done Round the stones and into stillwater with the people on the quay And Annie Shaw is on the wall there, and she's wavin' down at me [Chorus: shantyman male lead, the floor toms stomping on every stroke] Call me stroke, I set the pace, I'm the first oar in the sea Every man behind me pulls the second he sees me They told me in the hospital I'd had a stroke, and I cried Now I am the stroke, boys, and the ocean's on our side [End]

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