THE WRECK OF THE DIDDLEY

Was a bright summer’s day back in 1859
No it wasn’t, it was 1863
And we sailed on the good ship ‘My Darling Clementine’
No we didn’t, it was ‘Mary Jane Marie’

Then came a storm, a typhoon I recall
And the waves they crashed all around
They were 20 foot high and they looked us in the eye
And we thought to a man we would drown

We thought we’d die diddley die
Diddley diddley diddley die
We thought we’d die diddley die
Diddley die

It was young Nick Magoo who saw the rocks ahead
No it wasn’t, it was old man John McGee
And the captain steered to port and we headed into land
No he didn’t, it was starboard out to sea

Then was a mighty crack, a terrible sickening sound
And the brave mast came a-tumbling down
The salt it stung our eyes, ”Abandon ship”, we cried
And we thought to a man we would drown

We thought we’d die diddley die
Diddley diddley diddley die
We thought we’d die diddley die
Diddley die

The water was a-boil with a dozen drowning men
No it wasn’t cos I counted 43
And we clung to bits of wood and anything we could
No we didn’t, we were sinking helplessly

We shouted to the skies and we said our last goodbyes
As the darkness gathered all around
We were frozen to the core and we couldn’t swim no more
And so to a man we did drown

Oh we die diddley die
Diddley diddley diddley died
Yes we die diddley die
Diddley died

And sometimes late at night on the shores of Island Bay
If you listen you will hear a ghostly sound
And some do say it’s wind and some do say you may
Hear the singing of the sailor men who drowned

Oh we die diddley die
Diddley diddley diddley died
Yes we die diddley die
Diddley died