"Show Some Respect" lyrics

"Show Some Respect"

Show some respect on this deck for the dear departed
Gather ye's 'round let's be bound by the work we started
Save all your strength for the length of the task before us
Think on that ship on the slipway they can't ignore us

It's what he would have wanted, he'll not be disappointed
Each of us well appointed, we've all but been anointed
Such was our occupation, this means of our salvation
We'll make a rope out of our dreams and hopes and tribulations

We'll weave these strands together, we'll splice a rope and tether
And though we won't know whether, it's fair or stormy weather
We'll quit this quay
And we'll cast this net of souls upon the sea

Pick up your tools, we're not fools to be treated lightly
We'll weld our souls to the bulkheads, secure them tightly
We'll use the skills and the crafts that our fathers taught us
We work with pride, not as slaves, no one ever bought us

We'll weave a net of our dreams and our hopes between us
We'll be the envy of that sorry bunch who'll wish they'd been us
We'll form a web of steel, a structure that will not be broken
We'll be the heroes of the day whenever tales are spoken

And as the dance gets faster, we'll build a double master
No vessel will outlast her, no other ship gets past her
We'll quit this quay
And we'll cast this net of souls upon the sea

Come strike the floor with your feet all you lads and lasses
And if you're too old to dance, you can raise your glasses
Just come on in, take a spin, in your dreams ye've held her
What are ye? Man or a mouse, or a shipyard welder?

Shy bairns get nowt for waiting, so why ye hesitating?
Ships don't get built debating, or launched just contemplating
Wear out your old shoe leather, we're in this dance together
We'll pull the blades and feather, in fair or clement weather
Each one of us connected, all trades and skills respected
Always to be expected, we will not be deflected
We'll quit this quay
And we'll cast this net of souls upon the sea

Na na na na na na na na na na na na na
Na na na na na na na na na na na na na
Na na na na na na na na na na na na
Na na na na na na na na na na na na na

Na na na na na na na
Na na na na na na na

Na na na na na na na
Na na na na na na na

Na na na na, la la la
La la la la la la la

Show some respect, fill the deck, get the lassies twirling
'Cause they expect to be swept off their feet and whirling
Life is a dance, a romance where ye take your chances
Just don't be left on the shores of regretful glances
We may not drive Rolls Royces, we're hardly spoilt for choices
If we're to pay invoices, we'll need to raise our voices
Our strength is in communion, this boilermakers' union
The shipwright welders' guilds, with every working station filled

These bonds we've spliced together, will face all kinds of weather
Considered altogether, and sailing Hell for leather
We'll quit this quay
And we'll cast this net of souls upon the sea
Where will you be
When we cast this net of souls upon the sea?


Writer(s): Gordon Matthew Sumner
album: "The Last Ship" (2013)
Sting - The Last Ship album cover
Shipyard
(Deluxe Edition Bonus Track)
It's Not The Same Moon
(Deluxe Edition Bonus Track)
Hadaway
(Deluxe Edition Bonus Track)
Sky Hooks And Tartan Paint
(Deluxe Edition Bonus Track)
Show Some Respect
(Deluxe Edition Bonus Track)
Jock The Singing Welder
(Super Deluxe Edition Bonus Track)
Peggy's Song
(Super Deluxe Edition Bonus Track)
Island Of Souls (2025)
(Expanded Edition Bonus Track)
Ship Of State
(Expanded Edition Bonus Track)
If You Ever See Me Talking To A Sailor
(Expanded Edition Bonus Track)
What Say You Meg?
(Expanded Edition Bonus Track)
O'Brien's Hymn
(Expanded Edition Bonus Track)
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