Captain Connor's Lament by Painless Parker

Oh me name is Jim Connor, I’m a captain by trade
And a saltier skipper the Lord never made
I’ve plied me trade long and I’ve plied me trade well
But now I’ve the saddest of stories to tell

I captain the Riga, she’s a right sturdy ship
We’ve ferried the gentry on many a trip
Now she bobs like a cork in the bay of Dunkirk
Since that bastard Von Zeppelin put us all out of work

So make fast the bunt gasket, avast and belay!
The airships have taken out custom away
A man as no wings, he was not meant to fly
If we don’t get some business we’ll all starve and die

I wonder if they know, them as take to the sky
How when one when one trade does flourish, another one dies?
A man with no title, well he still can stand tall,
But a man with no work, he ain;t no man at all.

So make fast the bunt gasket...
Me first mate’s been drinkin’ the ship’s weight in gin
Me second mate lies a-wastin’ in an opium den
Me bosun does dishes at the Bottleneck Pub
And I’m singin’ for coppers to pay for me grub

So make fast the bunt gasket...

It’s progress, they tell me, don’t stand in the way
So I while away the hours staring out at the bay
But I can’t help but wonder with each passing balloon
How they’d fare ‘gainst the steel of a well-aimed harpoon!

So make fast the bunt gasket...