| Well, it’s four o’clock in the afternoon
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| And the anchors have been weighed
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| From miami to nassau,
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| She’s bound across the waves
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| She’ll be headin’south through biscayne bay
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| Into the open sea
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| Yarmouth castle, she’s a-dyin'and don’t know it Now the many years she’s been to sea
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| She’s seen the better times
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| She gives a groan of protest
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| As they cast away her lines
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| And the grumble of her engines
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| And the rust along her spine
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| Tells the castle she’s too old to be sailin'
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| But the sands run out within her heart
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| A tiny spark glows red
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| It smoulders through the evening
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| There’s laughter overhead
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| Now the men are served, and the cards are dealt
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| And the drinks are passed around
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| Deep within the fire starts a-burnin'
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| Now it’s midnight on the open sea
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| And the moon is shining bright
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| Some people join the party
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| And others say good-night
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| There’s many who are sleeping now
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| It’s been a busy day
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| And a tiny wisp of smoke is a-risin'
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| «oh lord,"she groans, «i'm burning!»
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| «let someone understand!»
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| But her silent plea is wasted
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| In the playin’of the band
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| Everybody’s dancin’on her deck
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| And they’re havin’such a time
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| Then a voice says
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| «shut up and deal, i’m losin'»
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| Deep within the yarmouth castle
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| The fire begins to glow
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| It leaps into the hallways
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| And climbs and twists and grows
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| And the paint she wore to keep her young
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| Oh lord, how well it burns
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| And soon that old fire is a-ragin'
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| Up beneath the bridge it’s climbin’fast
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| The captain stands aloft
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| He calls up to the boatswain, 'n'says
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| «boatswain, we are lost»
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| For the ragged hoses in the racks
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| No pressure do they hold
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| And the people down below
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| Will soon be dyin'
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| All amidships, oh she’s blazin’now
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| It’s spreadin’fore and aft
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| The people are a-scramblin'
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| As the fire blocks their path
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| The evil smoke surrounds them,
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| And they’re fallin’in their tracks
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| And the captain in his lifeboat is a-leavin'
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| Oh then the ship, bahama star
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| Comes steamin’through the night
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| She sees the castle blazin'
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| And 'tis a terrible sight
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| «jump down, jump down!"the captain cries
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| «we'll save you if we can!»
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| Then the paint on his funnels is a-fryin'
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| «god help the ones who sleep below
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| And cannot find the way!
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| Thank god for those we’ve rescued
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| Upon this awful day.»
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| Now the heroes, they are many,
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| But the times are growin’slim
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| And now from stern to bow
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| She’s a-blazin'
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| Oh the yarmouth castle’s moanin'
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| She’s cryin’like a child.
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| You can hear her if you listen
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| Above the roar so wild
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| Is she cryin’for the ones who lie
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| Within her molten sides?
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| Or cryin’for herself, i’m a-wonderin'
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| But the livin’soon were rescued
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| The ones who lived to tell
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| From the star they watched her
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| As she died there in the swells
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| Like a toy ship on a mill pond
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| She burned all through the night
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| Then slipped 'neath the waves
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| In the mornin' |