Here's my transcription from the live Finbar Fury recording (date unknown)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UCPCmayaxqk

SILENT ANNIE
poem to accompany 'The Lonesome Boatman'
(Finbar Furey)

I saw which nearly broke my heart,
A tramp lay dying in a park;
I knelt beside him to hear him speak,
And the words he spoke, they were oh, so weak

He told me a story of long since past,
Of his sailing ship with its long grey mast;
Of his captain's cap with its shining braid,
And the wonderful voyages that he made.

Silent Annie was his great ship's name,
Like a token of love he spoke her name;
She sailed 'round the Horn, aye, more than once
She could cut through the waves like a sharpened lance.

"Believe me," he said, his eyes filled with tears,
Like a drunk on a corner trying to remember his years;
He reached out his hand, and I took it in mine,
"I believe you," I said, and he gave a sad smile.

"I remember the day when they towed her away,
Her sides they were sore from the sea's angered spray;
They said she's unfit for to sail out once more,
And they towed her more inward from her own sandy shore.

"And as they broke my Silent Annie, I watched with a sigh
I remembered her beauty when I was a boy;
She was my one love, my life's only dream,
When we sailed out together as captain and queen."

It started to drizzle, and I felt my hand tight,
And he squeezed even harder as he ended the fight;
And the crowd they had gathered and they watched with dismay,
As some ambulance men came and they took him away.

So I got to my feet and I walked through that park,
The sun it was gone, but it was not yet dark;
My body was wet, my clothes were not many,
But my mind was aroused by his ship, Silent Annie.


I think I have a pretty good transcription here, but I'm sure there are some corrections to be made. Post them below, and I'll edit them into this post.