The Old Man of the Sea's Will

Verse 1

The last thing I remember

Was a man with a knife and a strange tattoo

His name was Charlie Endell

And he looked a lotta like you

And I've heard it said

Charlie Endell was a cold-blooded killer

But he was no killer to me

Verse 2

Well, the night I left Dundee

To sail away on a cargo ship

With Jimmy Shand on the radio

And a whiskey bottle and my own sweet lips

And I kissed my mother

And I whispered in her ear

"I'll be back home in a year"

Verse 3

But the ocean is a fickle mistress

And the storms come out of the blue

And the ship went down

And I was lucky to get off with the lucky few

And we washed up on a beach

With the sand like powdered sugar

And the palm trees swaying in the breeze

Verse 4

We were starving to death

And we were desperate for food

When I spotted a man with a big steel pot

Cookin' something that smelled like stew

We crawled to him

And he threw some meat in a bowl

And I said, "What is this I'm eating, friend"

He said, "It's haggis, that's what makes Scots strong"

Chorus

White beady eyed budgies

They watch me from their cage

They look at me

And I look at them

But they can't imagine my rage

They never know

They'll never know

What I did to survive

I've got a thousand stories

But I'm only half alive

Verse 5

We got off the island

And I went back to Dundee

But I couldn't shake the feelin'

That somethin' was out to get me

I had no job

I couldn't find a girl

I had to find a way to survive in this crazy world

Verse 6

There was a man

Who lived down at the end of the street

They called him the Old Man of the Sea

He had a thousand little budgies

But he didn't have no company

I said, "Old man, can I come in

Can I sit with you for a while"

And he said, "Come on in, lad"

And he gave me his biggest, ugliest smile

Verse 7

Well, I visited him every day

Until the old man passed away

And he left me a will

It said, "To my friend and his many, many budgies"

And I never asked myself

"Why did he leave them all to me"

But now I sit here every day

And I feed 'em, and I watch 'em fly

And sometimes

I think I hear 'em whisperin' to me

Chorus

White beady eyed budgies

They watch me from their cage

They look at me

And I look at them

But they can't imagine my rage

They never know

They'll never know

What I did to survive

I've got a thousand stories

But I'm only half alive

Outro

White beady eyed budgies

White beady eyed budgies

White beady eyed budgies

White beady eyed budgies