Ah'm a Shipyaird rivet heater (bookie's runner on the side).
An' at baith these occupations Ah'm the smartest on the Clyde.
Forbye, Ah'm quite a vocalist an' while Ah wield ma tong,
Above the din o' rivetin' ye aye can hear ma song
Iron rivets, steel rivets,snap heids or pans,
Ah love them like Diana Dors loves her million fans.
And the riveters and the hauders-on-whaur dae they think they'd be
Without the likes o' dirty tykes o' rivet boys like me?
Whiles Ah'm on the weather deck, whiles ablow the keel;
Whiles Ah'm ankle-deep in glaur-the gull wad make ye reel;
But nae matter whit the job, hooever hard or long,
Above the din' o' rivetin' ye aye can hear ma song.
Big ships. wee ships, ships prefabricated
A' have plates that need tae be wi' red-hot rivets mated;
And the riveters and the hauders-on whaur dae they think they'd be
Without the likes o' dirty tykes o' rivet boys like me?
Yince they made me Shop Steward, an' sent me ta a meetin',
When Ah came back ma fire wis oot a no' a rivet heating.
Ma riveter said "Noo Rab, old chap, you shouldnae hae been sae long.
But Ah'll say nae mair, if in ye'll tear. an' gie's yer happy song."
Leading flaunds, chargehaunds, "Bauldy" the foreman tae,
Ah'll no;deny, they're useful in a modest kind o' way;
But' like riveters and hauders-on, whaur dae they think they'd be
Without the likes o' dirty tykes o' rivet boys like me?
Extra Chorus
Ah don't despise directors, nor pass them in the street,
Ah'm never too prood tae drink wi' them or tak' a bite tae eat.
They think they're runnin' Fairfield, an' Ah don't disagree,
Though fine Ah ken it's run by men wi' dirty hauns's like me.
The Rivet Heater
1958
This page last modified on Wednesday, March 05, 2003
I climbed the hill this morning-
Looked out across the town
Yesterday, they found a way
To bring Goliath down.
To bring an era to an end
Took a ton of dynamite-
That mighty crane might have worked again
If they had treated this river right.
Go, go Goliath, you've done your final shift
Go, go Goliath. You've one last load to lift-
My heavy heart
We don't need a steel reminder
Of all this town achieved
But on Barr's Brae, on an August day
I saw silent yards and grieved
We lose more than just our landmarks,
When times and towns move on.
My Dad's on Clyde-built man
Who'd be sad the gantry's gone
Go, go Goliath, you've done your final shift
Go, go Goliath. You've one last load to lift-
My heavy heart
The comet's going nowhere,
Marooned in its brief heyday
Henry Bell was superseded as well
But they let his monument stay
Nostalgia's only history
Having a dammed good cry:
Whatever fate's beyond the shipyard gates
There'll be a big green gap in the sky
Go, go Goliath, you've done your final shift
Go, go Goliath. You've one last load to lift-
My heavy heart.
Goliath
The Crane was built by Arrol some details here!
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