The Lisbon Maru

The Lisbon Maru

Barman, I know you well,
you are a kind of crew.
You’ve hauled in halves of ordinary
and legion chasers too.
So listen to me barman,
listen to this drunk.
I was on that ship and it really did get sunk.

You see I was a seaman,
a seaman on a warship,
and I know you don’t believe me
because you never saw it.
But I’m fifty years your senior,
I’ve fought waist deep in mud,
and I’ve swum with severed heads in a crimson tide of blood.

I told you it was true,
I told you it was true,
I told you it was true:
The Lisbon Maru.

I was a prisoner of war,
caught on The China Sea,
but never marked as such,
bombed by my own country.
I was left to swim
amongst the corpses and the sharks,
but somehow I am here with your beer and cheap remarks.

I told you it was true,
I told you it was true,
I told you it was true:
The Lisbon Maru.

It’s in the news today,
so I’d like to hear your views today.

Barman, I know you well,
you are a kind of crew.
You’ve hauled in halves of ordinary
and legion chasers too.
So listen to me barman,
listen to this drunk.
I was on that ship and it really did get sunk.

I told you it was true,
I told you it was true,
I told you it was true:
The Lisbon Maru.