A Day in a Dog’s Life

Will he have gifts for me?
Like a stack of sweet sardines, right out the hand
Howling at him from across the jetty
For I could recognize his boat a hundred miles away
His basket seems so empty
Another grim season it's been
And he seems tired for he rubs his eyes and he
Pats my back to calm me

My master's back from the open seas
And I run like the wind to greet him
But he's down on his knees
He hasn't got a gift for me but
It's not the fish that I want
Just my master back on land with me

He'll be half-blind from the heavy sun
Have to double-check it's me, his only child
I'll know it's him from the crooked back
And that ever-twisting brow under his tilted cap
I've been pacing in the harbor
I can sense those old boots getting near
I've been barking at those taunting waves
To make stubborn days crawl the quicker

My master's back from the open seas
And I run like the wind to greet him
But he's down on his knees
He didn't catch a fish for me
It's not the fish that I want
Just my master back home with me

The ocean's running empty
That's the rumor spread all round the port
I'm not worried for I'll beg some scraps
From the kids drinking beers on the docks

My master's back from the empty seas
And I run like the wind to greet him
But he's down on his knees
Hangs his head, he can't look at me
But there's nothing that beats
Having master back on land with me