Three fishers went sailing out into the west,
Oh, into the west as the sun went down;
Each thought of the woman,
That loved him the best,
And the children stood watching them out on the town.
For men must work and the women must weep,
For there's little to earn and many to keep;
And the harbour bar be moaning?
The harbour bar be moaning.
Three wives sat up in the lighthouse tower,
And trimmed the lamps as the sun went down;
And they looked at the squall,
And they looked at the shower,
The nightbird came rolling in ragged and drowned.
Men must work and the women must weep,
Tho storms be sudden and the waters be deep;
And the harbour bar be moaning?
The harbour bar be moaning.
*Instrumental*
Men must work and the women must weep,
Tho storms be sudden and the waters be deep;
And the harbour bar be moaning?
The harbour bar be moaning.
Three corpses lay out on the shining sand,
In morning green as the tide went down;
And the women were weeping and wringing their hands,
For those who would never come back to the town.
Men must work and the women must weep,
For the sooner it's over the sooner to sleep;
And goodbye to the bar and its moaning,
Goodbye to the bar and its moaning.