Ho!

In the fall of 1883 I had just one more load of coal for the Cornish Jacks at the Silver Islet mine

Beneath the icy waves, they picked and hacked at the silver caves

And the coal fires kept them dry

And I never once did think that just a couple drinks

Could cause that mine to die

For 17 good years I've been a faithful captain here

Always had an eye for the weather

And it's an easy thing to say, if you're looking for someone to blame

Well, the captain should have known better

And everyone still thinks that the captain's love of drink

Is why that silver mine died

I could hear the voice of gin whisper in my ear

Or maybe it was Sally saying "Who's the captain here?"

The Tuttle is your ship, and you surely have the right

To set the time of sail

And to stay here where it's warm one more night

The captain of my ship and the master of my pride

But still there's an undertow in every sailor's mind

And the blue of Sally's eyes and the warmth of her thighs

Spoke to me in terms that could not be denied

I turned my back on the lake, thinking she would wait

And give me a little more time

With gin and love, half-crazed, we'd lain there for three days

When I staggered to the window to catch a breath of air

I remember Sally laughed as an icy winter blast

Caught me in the face and snapped back my hair

And one thought filled my head, as I fell back on the bed:

That silver mine's gonna die

I could hear the voice of gin whisper in my ear

Or maybe it was Sally saying "Who's the captain here?"

The Tuttle is your ship, and you surely have the right

To set the time of sail

And to stay here where it's warm one more night

[Instrumental]

We stoked the boilers hot

But the Tuttle she was caught

No way to get the lake to change her stubborn mind

There was no way to entice that wretched winter ice

To leave a channel open to the Silver Islet Mine

And with no coal to fire the pumps

And November all at once

The lake had drowned that mine

In the fall of 1883, just one more load of coal would have saved the Silver Islet Mine

Now I know that I'm to blame, and I must bear the shame

But try to understand the nature of my crime

I was unfaithful to the lake, she raged at my mistake

She wanted that mine to die

I could hear the voice of gin whisper in my ear

Or maybe it was Sally saying "Who's the captain here?"

The Tuttle is your ship, and you surely have the right

To set the time of sail

And to stay here where it's warm one more night

I could hear the voice of gin whisper in my ear

Or maybe it was Sally saying "Who's the captain here?"

The Tuttle is your ship, and you surely have the right

To set the time of sail

And I could hear the voice of gin whisper in my ear

Or maybe it was Sally saying "Who's the captain here?"

The Tuttle is your ship

You surely have the right

To set the time of sail

And to stay here where it's warm

One more night