Single-Handed Sailor

Album: Communiqué (1979)
Play Video
  • Two in the morning, dry-dock town
    The river rolls in the night
    Little gypsy moth, she's all tied down
    She quivers in the wind and the light

    Yeah, and a sailing ship is just held down in chains
    From the lazy days of sail
    She's just a-lying there in silent pain
    He lean on the tourist rail

    A mother and her baby and the college of war
    In the concrete graves
    You never want to fight against the river law
    Nobody rules the waves
    Yeah, and on a night when the lazy wind is a-wailing
    Around the Cutty Sark
    The single-handed sailor goes sailing
    Sailing away in the dark

    He's upon the bridge on the self same night
    The mariner of dry-dock land
    Two in the morning, but there's one green light
    And a man on a barge of sand

    She's gonna slip away below him
    Away from the things he's done
    But he just shouts "Hey man, what you call this thing?"
    He could have said "Pride of London"
    On a night when the lazy wind is a-wailing
    Around the Cutty Sark
    Yeah, the single-handed sailor goes sailing
    Sailing away in the dark Writer/s: MARK KNOPFLER
    Publisher: Universal Music Publishing Group
    Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

Comments: 4

  • Martin from CanadaThis song cut to my very core upon my first listen so many years ago and means so much to me. I recently visited the Cutty Sark in Greenwich and it was even more emotional than I expected. Thank you MK!
  • Phillip Anderson from Gosford, AustraliaWell seeing as Communiqué is almost a copy of the first album I wonder if there are some people who actually prefer it to the first album.
  • Bill from Virginia My favorite song Thank You Mark.
  • Gerard from Toulouse, FranceDefinitely one of 5 or 6 must-have songs for a perfect soundtrack to any VCR shots along London's Victoria Embankment!
see more comments

Editor's Picks

Dave Alvin - "4th Of July"

Dave Alvin - "4th Of July"They're Playing My Song

When Dave recorded the first version of the song with his group the Blasters, producer Nick Lowe gave him some life-changing advice.

Incongruent Opening Acts

Incongruent Opening ActsSong Writing

Here's what happens when an opening act is really out of place with the headliner, like when Beastie Boys opened for Madonna.

Tanita Tikaram

Tanita TikaramSongwriter Interviews

When she released her first album in 1988, Tanita became a UK singing sensation at age 19. She talks about her darkly sensual voice and quirky songwriting style.

Don Dokken

Don DokkenSongwriter Interviews

Dokken frontman Don Dokken explains what broke up the band at the height of their success in the late '80s, and talks about the botched surgery that paralyzed his right arm.

Metallica

MetallicaFact or Fiction

Beef with Bon Jovi? An unfortunate Spandex period? See if you can spot the true stories in this Metallica version of Fact or Fiction.

Let Me Be Your Teddy Bear: Teddy Bears and Teddy Boys in Songs

Let Me Be Your Teddy Bear: Teddy Bears and Teddy Boys in SongsSong Writing

Elvis, Little Richard and Cheryl Cole have all sung about Teddy Bears, but there is also a terrifying Teddy song from 1932 and a touching trucker Teddy tune from 1976.