[Verse 1]
The glass fell hard at half past four
The wind backed west
Then backed once more
A black line gathered on the sea
Too fast
Too dark
Too close to me
The skipper looked but said no word
We’d all already seen and heard
The canvas cracked
The daylight went
And heaven’s door
Was ripped and bent
[Verse 2]
We shortened sail and lashed the deck
Green water breaking round our necks
The compass swung from side to side
The old ship groaned
The timbers cried
One man prayed beneath his breath
Another laughed in fear of death
No heroes then
No sailor’s song
Just frightened men
Holding on
[Chorus]
Into the storm
Into the night
Hold her together
Hold her upright
No brave man’s boasting
No right
No wrong
Just hands on the ropes
And holding on
[Verse 3]
A wall of water crossed the bow
I still don’t know what saved us now
For one long second
We were gone
No deck beneath us
Nothing on
Then timber rose through boiling foam
And every man was thinking home
Not medals
Money
Pride or fame
Just one warm room
And someone’s name
[Verse 4]
I saw my father’s weathered hands
My mother’s roses by the land
I saw her standing at our door
The way she’d stood a year before
And in that black Atlantic rain
I promised things I’d change again
The sea has ways
Of stripping through
The man you claim to be
To you
[Bridge]
I’ve heard men say
They fear no sea.
I’ve met the sea.
They don’t fool me.
[Verse 5]
Then sometime just before the dawn
The screaming wind was simply gone
No grand finale
No command
Just pale light reaching for my hand
Twelve men stood where twelve had stood
Soaked and shaking
Still alive
Nobody cheered
Nobody spoke
We watched the morning
Cross the smoke
[Final Chorus]
Out of the storm
Into the light
Still held together
Still upright
No cheering heroes
No victory song
Just twelve quiet sailors…
Who’d held on.
Lyrics Michael Forty
Voice Michael Forty