Big River

Walking on Cobbled stones

Little bits of skin and bone

Jumping on a tramcar for a ride

I can remember then

I was just a boy of ten

Hanging around the old quay sides.

Now all the capstans and the cargo boats

And the stevedores are gone

to where all the old ships go

but memories just like the sea live on

'Cos that was when coal was king

The River was a living thing and

I was just a boy but it was mine

The coal in Tyne.

FOR THIS WAS A BIG RIVER

I WANT YOU ALL TO KNOW THAT I WAS PROUD

THIS WAS A BIG RIVER BUT THAT WAS LONG AGO

THAT'S NOT NOW, THAT'S NOT KNOW

My father was a working man

Earned a living from his hands

He had to cross the rover every day

He picked up his union card

Out of the Neptune Yard

Mouths to feed and bills to pay

Then came a time for him to sail

Across the seas and far away

Finally when the war was won

They brought him home and home he stayed

And when his days were done

Under a golden sun

They took him back to where he longed to be

Back to the sea.

FOR THIS WAS A BIG RIVER

I WANT YOU ALL TO KNOW THAT I WAS PROUD

THIS WAS A BIG RIVER BUT THAT WAS LONG AGO

THAT'S NOT NOW, THAT'S NOT KNOW

The Neptune was the last to go

I heard it on my radio

And then they played the latest number

But what do they do all day

And what are they supposed to say

What does a father tell his son?

If you believe that there's a bond

Between our future and our past

Try to hold on to what we have.

We built them strong we built to last

'Cos that this is a mighty town

Built upon a solid ground

And everything they tried so hard to kill

We will rebuild.

FOR THIS WAS A BIG RIVER

I WANT YOU ALL TO KNOW THAT I WAS PROUD

THIS WAS A BIG RIVER BUT THAT WAS LONG AGO

THAT'S NOT NOW, THAT'S NOT KNOW

For this was a big river

I want you all to know.

I'm so proud. This was a big river,

But that was long ago. That's not now

And this is a big river and in my heart,

I know it will rise again

The river will rise again.

It will rise!