Intro
Verse 1
Ropewalkers Rise At Dawn, Boots Always Worn, And Tar-Stained Clothing,
Moving Through Landport Streets, On Weary Feet, The Day Unfolding.
Work — The Ropewalk Was Long, One Thousand Feet, Slowly We Paced In The Dust And The Heat,
Tar On Our Palms, We Twisted The Yarn, Backwards We Moved, Pulling Taut On The Ropes,
Completed On Time, For Ships Of The Line.
Chorus
Twist And Lay, Day After Day, Under And Over.
Heel To Toe, Backwards We Go, The Life Of A Roper.
Verse 2
Drums On The Morning Key, White Sails Set Free, Bright Pennants Flying,
Boys Ran Along The Shore, Ships Off To War, And Loved Ones Crying.
Stays, From Twisted Up Strands, Then Tamed By My Hands,
For Ships That Would Sail To Those Far Foreign Lands
Wind In The Spars, Guided By Stars, The Stories I Learned Of The Life Of A Tar,
They Called Out To Me, A Life On The Sea.
Chorus
Twist And Lay, Day After Day, Under And Over.
Heel To Toe, Backwards We Go, The Life Of A Roper.
Verse 3
With Winter The Coughing Came, My Throat Aflame, And Chest Was Burning.
My Dreams Of The Open Sea, I Foolishly, Ignored That Warning.
So, I Stood With The Rest, And Hoped To Impress, I Asked For A Berth On A Ship Headed West.
“There’s Dust On Your Lungs, It’s Sad, Your So Young” That Ended My Hopes, So Back To The Ropes,
Now Forever I’ll Stand, Both Feet On Dry Land.
Chorus
Twist And Lay, Day After Day, Under And Over.
Heel To Toe, Backwards We Go, The Life Of A Roper.
Verse 4
Now I Am Bent With Age, I've Turned A Page, My Life 'S Contented.
In Portsea I’ve Lived My Life Not On A Ship But Represented
Ten Thousand Cables I’ve Laid, With The Tools Of My Trade,
Mountains Of Hemp On The Ropewalk’s Long Ways,
Walked, Half Of The World, Though Never At Sea,
Ships That I Served Sailing Wild And Free,
And The Rigging They Climb, Made With Skills That Were Mine.
Chorus
Twist And Lay, Day After Day, Under And Over.
Heel To Toe, Backwards We Go, The Life Of A Roper.
Twist And Lay, Day After Day, Under And Over.
Heel To Toe, Backwards We Go, The Life Of A Roper.
