"Bow Hauliers" lyrics

When the fast-flowing waters go kissing the banks
Bird calls like mourning from bushel and branch
We haul the trows along river and creek
Get our sweet respite and pay for the week

We are the hauliers, hands hard and strong
Pulling the barges all summer's day long
Cheaper than horses, but nothing is free
Hard up the river and back to the sea

Worn like the ropes every step that we tread
Pull down the mast, there's a bridge up ahead
Don't fear the load as it digs in your back
You'll find the casques easier on up on the track

We are the hauliers, hands hard and strong
Pulling the barges all summer's day long
Cheaper than horses, but nothing is free
Hard up the river and back to the sea

When the tide brings the ships up as far as they'll go
The flat-bottom barges are stocked high and low
Labour is cheap, and they don't ask no names
Pull out your wallet, and we'll pull on them chains

We are the hauliers, hands hard and strong
Pulling the barges all summer's day long
Cheaper than horses, but nothing is free
Hard up the river and back to the sea

And here's to the hauliers, hands hard and strong
Stomping up river and down for so long
Trade on the Wye till they're broken and old
And the gold eye of summer has left them in cold