Pouring days

Pour out the whiskey, pour out the rum
Fifty cents to Davey Godfrey so the government work gets done
It's a five dollar secret, the sailors gladly pay
They've come to Pictou Harbour for another pouring day

Out on the harbour like a school of feeding fish
Schooner, ketch and dory, hard to tell which is which
Like a faithful congregation on communion day
They'll all attend the pouring before they slip away

Up on the shore the customs house stands
With bars on the windows to protect the contraband
Cask or flask or flagon, it'll end the same way
There's a stone sink in the back room
And a drain pipe to the bay

When there's bottles to be broken, don't hire a grown man
You'll catch him sipping spirits the government has damned
Twelve-year-old Davey, well maybe he takes bribes
He sometimes inhales but he never imbibes

The Lord gives, the Lord takes away
Just like the authorities down on Pictou Bay
They take away your liquor, they pour it down the drain
You tap into the drainpipe and get it back again