She went out last October in the pouring, blinding rain
The captain, he'd been drinking and the matey felt no pain
... she was dealt her mortal blow
And the Mary Ellen Carter settled low
It was just us five aboard her when she finally was awash
We worked like hell to save her, all heedless of the cost
And the groan she made as she went down it caused us to exclaim
We'd make the Mary Ellen Carter rise again
Rise again, rise again
Let her name not be lost to the knowledge of men
All those who loved her best and were with her to the end
Will make the Mary Ellen Carter rise again
The owners wrote her off, not a nickel would they spend
She gave twenty years of service 'fore she met her sorry end
....would never rest below
And they laughed at us and said we'd have to go
We talked of her all winter, some days around the clock
She's worth a quarter million floating at the dock
And with every jar that hit the bar, we swore that we'd remain
And make the Mary Ellen Carter rise again
Rise again, rise again
Let her name not be lost to the knowledge of men
All those who loved her best and were with her to the end
Will make the Mary Ellen Carter rise again
....
... in hard hat suits and twice I got the bends
Thank God it's only sixty feet and currents here are slow
Or we'd never have the strength to go below
....
.... cables to her fore and aft ...
Tomorrow noon we'll hit the air and then take up the strain
And watch the Mary Ellen Carter rise again
Rise again, rise again
Let her name not be lost to the knowledge of men
All those who loved her best and were with her to the end
Will make the Mary Ellen Carter rise again
....
....
....
....
You to whom adversity has dealt its final blow
With smiling bastards lying to you everywhere you go
Stick to it, put out all your strength of arm and heart and brain
And like the Mary Ellen Carter, rise again
Rise again, rise again
Though your heart, it be broken or life about to end
No matter what you've lost, be it a love, a home, a friend
Like the Mary Ellen Carter rise again
Rise again, rise again
Though your heart, it be broken or life about to end
No matter what you've lost, be it a love, a home, a friend
Like the Mary Ellen Carter rise again