I've always loved this song, and I was lucky enough to see these decaying schooners in the 1990s before they slipped below the surface of the water. I came across a lovely recording of this song by David Coffin (with a great photo of the schooners):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ufNXA9_Nk7E

Bok-Muir-Trickett recording:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6hZNQgyWBnA

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I see I posted this song in one of those "collections" threads in 2003:
Thread #37497   Message #928413
Posted By: Joe Offer
08-Apr-03 - 12:45 AM
Thread Name: Songs about boats, No disasters!
Subject: ADD: Wiscasset Schooners (Lois Lyman)

I last visited Maine in the early 1990's, and one of the most memorable sights was Wiscasset, where the remains of two wooden schooners lay rotting at a dock. I got there just after one of the schooners lost its mast, and there wasn't much left to see. Still, those old ships were a wonder to behold for Joe the would-be sailor who lives far from the sea. This thread says thery're all gone now, taken to the dump.
What a shame.
-Joe Offer-

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WISCASSET SCHOONERS
(Lois Lyman)

Do you remember riding home before a dying summer breeze,
Your topsails gleaming golden, setting sun among the trees,
And the osprey wheeling slowly through the shadows by the shore,
Where the towering cliffs of granite plunge ten fathoms deep or more,
And the eddies swirl and flow down below.

You were solid-built of Douglas fir and oak and yellow pine,
Two hundred feet, sailed by a crew that numbered only nine,
Hauling lumber through your timberports, and dyewood from the south
Running home from Norfolk bringing coal to heat the north
And whatever they could stow down below.

But the winter is upon you now, and time is passing slow
And the tides ebb and flow down below.

You served them well for fifteen years, your canvas all unfurled
When New England sailing ships were found in ports around the world,
But spars gave way to smokestacks, clouds of white to black and grey,
There was nothing left for you to do but waste your lime away,
And the rot was spreading slow, down below.
And the winter...

From Wiscasset to the China Lakes the Narrow Gauge did run,
To push it northward to Quebec was old Frank Winter's plan —
And schooners were to bring his cargoes in to meet the train,
When he found you idle on the dock, he brought you down to Maine Where the tides ebb and flow down below.

You know he tried the best he could, but he just couldn't make it pay
So he ran you both aground, and turned around and walked away;
You've been waiting here for fifty years, but no one set you free,
Now you're broken down and dying, lying open to the sea,
And the tides ebb and flow down below.
And the winter...

The people come to stare at you with wonder in their eyes
For times have changed since men knew how to work a ship your size.
The seas you sailed are running black; in time we'll know our loss
It's too late now for you, and is it too late now for us?
Can you teach us what you know before you go?
For the winter is upon you now, and time is passing slow
And the tides ebb and flow down below.

Copyright 1985, Lois Lyman

From the Gordon Bok CD, Schooners.

Bok says:

Lois spent part of her childhood in Wiscasset, Maine, where she used to play aboard the hulks of two schooners there, the Hesper and the Luther Little. The vessels are disintegrating quickly now; she wrote this song to keep them and their history a bit closer to memory.

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This Google Search (click) will bring up some interesting photos.