sailor's rest

it's acrimony down in the card room

with winning hands thrown on the baize

forgotten cards wait on the end of debate

on the good old days

captains and mates getting testy

with memories not of the best

and tempers are flying

down at the sailor's rest

blue eyes in wrinkled morocco

still search the horizon for squalls

and zeros in the sky and the watchkeeper's eye

and the pawn shop balls

the spice in the wind off of java

and the bars in papeete were best

but the deck is too steady

down at the sailor's rest

and oh. how they talk of the day they arrived

when after the years

all the storms and the tears

still very much alive

and oh. how their lives were spilled out on the floor

from the battered old seabags

the journals and logs

and the keepsakes locked in the chests

that were stowed in the attic

down at the sailor's rest

no rail on the mess room table

and you're dead if you spit on the floor

no grog allowed

no singing too loud

and no locks on the doors

but there's always a fire in the card room

and the tucker is always the best

and they'll end it together

down at the sailor's rest

and oh. how they talk of the day they arrived

when after the years

all the storms and the tears

still very much alive

and oh. how their lives were spilled out on the floor

from the battered old seabags

the journals and logs

and the keepsakes locked in the chests

that were stowed in the attic

down at the sailor's rest

and oh. how they talked of the day they arrived

so. it's acrimony down in the card room

with winning hands thrown on the baize

forgotten cards wait on the end of debate

on the good old days

captains and mates getting testy

with memories not of the best

and tempers are flying

down at the sailor's rest