East of aberdeen

Cold is she
The cold North Sea
She'll howl and she'll heave
And will not be subdued
So raise up your glass
To those who have seen her
From no friendly shore
But East, East of Aberdeen

Four hundred miles
I travelled to labour
To the Grey Granite City
In the far, far north
I found myself alone
In bars with no women
Just men who have been
East, East of Aberdeen

At the heliport we stewed,
Held by stormy weather
We sweated in our suits
Too tired to do much talking
We smoked and we laughed
But the wind was out there mocking
As we waited for our flight
To East, East of Aberdeen

The first few days
Will never be forgot
Ye work and ye work
And ye never seemed to stop
It'd be a Hell on earth
But the real Hell is the water
That thunders through your dreams
When you're East, East of Aberdeen

As Like a wee toy
The standby boat is bobbing
Their three month trip
Must send their brains to God
They only get them back
When they've drunk themselves sober
And then they'll be broke
And East, East of Aberdeen

The flares o the Innes
Burn like wee candles
In the huge night sky
There is nothing else to see
And if ever you felt
Humbled and Holy
It's alone with these lights
When you're East, East of Aberdeen

Our flare burns like gold,
Gold and restless amber
It lights up the sky
The rigging and the gantry
Then O'er endless skies
The Northern Lights come dancing
There's angels in your dreams
East, east of Aberdeen

Three weeks you're on
And your relief, he bumps you
Dressed in your suit
But no place to go
But back down below
To fourteen hours of grafting
And you curse and you swear
East, East of Aberdeen

And you lie in your bunk
And think of your woman
Is she lying alone?
Or sharing her sorrow
And the wind it sighs
It's the voice of a lover
But a lover who lies
East, East of Aberdeen

And Cold is she
The cold North Sea
She'll howl and she'll heave
And will not be subdued
So raise up your glass
To those who have seen her
From no friendly shore
But East, East of Aberdeen