The lyrics here are good but not quite the way he sings it on the Live at Wolf Trap album. Here's that version:


THE OLD BROWN'S HEAD LIGHT
Words and music by John McCutcheon
As recorded by John McCutcheon on "Live at Wolf Trap" (1991).

He sat at the table, his eyes rimmed in red,
Sayin', "Lucy, come see what the papers here said.
Oh, we knew it was comin'; it still don't seem right
That they're takin' the old Brown's Head Light.

"And what about Charlie? What will he do
When computers perform the one job that he knew?
Well, it's back to the big ships to forage the sound
With the wife and the kids at the new place in town.

[CHORUS] "And it's many a lost soul he's seen safely home,
Many a loved one he's brought to their own—
A voice in the darkness, a star in the night,
A wish for good luck from the old Brown's Head Light.

"There was Boon Island, Saddleback, Egg Rock, Dice Head—
Every year one more wired or left there for dead,
And it's one more old timer washed up on the shore
As they give you a gold watch and they show you the door.

[CHORUS] "And it's many a lost soul he's seen safely home,
Many a loved one brought to their own—
A voice in the darkness, a star in the night,
A wish for good luck from the old Brown's Head Light.

"You can call me old fashioned; I guess that it's true.
I just ain't learned to change quick as other folks do,
But it's the same thing all over, and what I fear most
Is that, Lucy, you know, we're the next light up coast.

[CHORUS] "And it's many a lost soul I've seen safely home,
Many a loved one I've brought to their own—
A voice in the darkness, a star in the night,
A wish for good luck from my home in the light."

He sat at the table, his eyes rimmed in red,
Sayin', "Lucy, come see what the papers here said.
Oh, we knew it was comin'; it still don't seem right.
It's so hard to believe, but it's in black and white
That they're takin' the old Brown's Head Light.
Oh, they're takin' the old Brown's Head Light."

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I just love this song, moves me to tears every time. I like to visit lighthouses here in Australia and I always think of this song and wonder how the lighthouse keepers here felt when they had to leave. John McCutcheon is one of my all-time favourite songwriters and I love to sing his songs too!
Cheers
Jenny