Three Fishers

Three fishers went sailing out into the west
Out into the west as the sun went down
Each thought on the woman that loved him the best
And the children stood watching them out of the town

For men must work and women must weep
For there's little to earn and many to keep
And the harbor bar bemoaning

Three wives sat up in the lighthouse tower
They trimmed the lamps as the sun went down
And they looked at the squall and they looked at the shore
And the night-wrack came rolling in ragged and brown

For men must work and women must weep
Though storms be sudden and the waters be deep
And the harbor bar bemoaning

Three corpses lay out on the shining sand
In the morning gleam as the tide went down
And the women were weeping and wringing their hands
For those who would never come back to the town

For men must work and women must weep
And the sooner it's over the sooner to sleep
And goodbye to that bar and its moaning