[Verse 1]
Two in the morning, dry-dock town
The rivers rolls away in the night
Little Gipsy Moth she's all tied down
She quiver in the wind and the light
Yeah, and a sailing ship just held down in chains
From the lazy days of sail
She's just 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
[Chorus]
Yeah and on a night when the lazy wind is a-wailing
Around the Cutty Sark
Single handed sailor goes sailing
Sailing away in the dark
[Verse 2]
He's upon the bridge on the self same night
The mariner of dry dock land
Two in the morning, but there is one green light
And a man on the barge of sand
She's going to slip away below him
Away from the things he's done
But he just shouts "Hey man, what do you call this thing?"
He could have said "Pride of London"
[Chorus]
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
[Instrumental outro 2:48-4:43]
Single Handed Sailor was written by Mark Knopfler.
Single Handed Sailor was produced by Jerry Wexler & Barry Beckett.
Dire Straits released Single Handed Sailor on Fri Jun 15 1979.