Two O'Clock Artillery                                
(Ron Baxter)

Two o'clock each morning, hear the cobbles ring;
Clog irons sparking in the dark, hear the voices sing;
"Morning, Harry - Morning, Joe", as they go down to the quay,
Hear the streets re-echo to the "Two O'Clock Artillery".

Two o'clock artillery, off to the docks once more;
Go down to that damn fish-hold, lump that fish ashore;
Frozen fingers, frozen toes, up to your knees in ice,
Oh, to be back home again, in bed 'longside the wife.

Two o'clock artillery, stinking with the fish,
Getting in your gear and hair, and in your heart you wish -
That Vernon's Pools would come, and set you up for life;
Then you could spend each night, in bed, 'longside the wife.

Spoken in the show by Charles Penfold, a thumb-nail sketch of the lumper's life.

Ross