- New Song The Pride Of The Clyde - A New Song Poem by Paddy Scott Hogg

Jim was a fitter and he worked on the clyde
The ships he help build were famed far & wide
He was tall and strong, a hard working man
A south side lad, wi a good pair o hands
His hammer was ringing by the quay side
The old working ethic gave Jim such pride
Then came the day, when the shipyards closed down
Their heads were all bowed, their eyes to the ground.

Chorus:
Sail away, sail away, ships full of dreams
Hoist up the steel lads, & bolt down the beams
Jimmy built them to last, gave them his soul
Now he drinks to hide the shame of the dole.

Jim had a wee lass and a fine lovely wife
His wages & work were the stay of their life
When the last whistle blew at Govan’s shipyard
He felt his life end when he clocked out his card
When debt brought him guilt again and again
He drunk himself numb to blot out the pain
On a park bench wi cronies, drunk every day
His wife threw him out, he’d nowhere to stay.

The unions stood firm but the battle was lost
There was no one to see the real human cost
Broken men without dreams lost in the past
Reciting old stories as the bottle was passed
Each day his daughter would walk by to school
He’d keep his head down, drunk like a fool
For years she walked by, they ne’er once spoke
Her dad was a stranger, a beggar and broke

Instrumental

Let's hear it once more for the lads o the clyde
Whose ships sailed away with their dreams on the tide!
Let's raise a glass high, our arms open wide
When Scotland remembers the pride o the clyde!

Double chorus to end