the gulf of mexico

come and gather 'round me people

and a tale to you i'll tell

of my father and his father

in the days before the spill

with an endless sky above 'em

and a restless sea below

and every blessin' flowing from the gulf of mexico

from my granddad with the shrimp boats

from the time that he was grown

and he scrimped and saved and bought himself

a trawler of his own

he was rough and he was ready

and he drank when he was home

and he made his family's living on the gulf of mexico

we were rolling

we were rolling

past the deep blue water

he was rolling

well my daddy drove a crew boat

hauling workers to the rigs

he was sick of mending nets

and couldn't stand the smell of fish

he drew a steady paycheck

20 years at texico

when he died they spread his ashes

on the gulf of mexico

we were rolling

we were rolling

past the deep green water

he was rolling

as for me

i think of nothing

any grander than the day

that i stepped out on the drillin' floor

to earn a roughneck's pay

then one night i swear i saw the devil

crawlin' from the hole

and he spilled the guts of hell out in the gulf of mexico

we were rolling

we were rolling

'cross the blood red water

we were rolling