A pretty old girl in a sweet summer dress A man clutching Irn Bru and day dreams He caught the glimpse of a smile in her eyes And swore he saw stardust and sunbeams She got on the train without even a word His heart was more or less broken, He sat on the platform and wrote in his head The words he wished he had spoken: 'I'll be what I can be to you, A quiet and constant companion I'll sail these tumultuous seas with you And love with tempestuous abandon' They met by pure chance at a Summer night's dance His hair was longer and brighter She floated around in a long purple dress And asked to borrow his lighter They talked for a while but she went back inside And danced with each man that approached her He watched on shyly too awkward to ask And said to himself in a murmur: 'I'll be what I can be to you, A quiet and constant companion I'll sail these tumultuous seas with you And love with tempestuous abandon' One blessed night they went to a party together - A last minute choice on her part - He bought a litre of gin on the way As a sure way of winning her heart He kissed her at dawn and she wasn't surprised The gin and the stars made her love him 'I've fancied you so long' he confessed with a smile And said in the vanishing dim: 'I'll be what I can be to you, A quiet and constant companion I'll sail these tumultuous seas with you And love with tempestuous abandon' 'And will you marry me?' He asked with sincerity She said no for years 'It's too soon' she feared Til one day she got down on one knee Months later they married in sweet summer air He cried as she walked down the aisle Their parents wept softly for childhoods lost As they whispered 'I do' with a smile The vows that they spoke to each other that day Were written for years on their heart They looked in each other's eyes no question there They both knew the words to their parts: 'I'll be what I can be to you, A quiet and constant companion I'll sail these tumultuous seas with you And love with tempestuous abandon' Their lives passed by slow in an old country house Their children grew healthy and charming He took on ownership of an old pub While she enjoyed vegetable farming She died at the ripe age of seventy nine He died of being alone Their children knew of the words in their blood And had them carved into their gravestone: 'I'll be what I can be to you, A quiet and constant companion I'll sail these tumultuous seas with you And love with tempestuous abandon'

Throw down the oars she said Let them float away with the current Churning fast with a fever And a vitality Abandon the river You’ve been on it too long You’re becoming the fever  It’s too strong   Ashore you can rest Sit back watch the river that has swept you along Ashore you can rest Let the fever break   Away with the oars he said What can you mean Without them we’ll drown and the current will Sweep Us Away   The river’s my home The rapids my blood It’s a life force that rules me  So sorry it’s no good   For years they travelled and the struggle ran on The fights with the current and the rapids swept on With a vitality   The wind whistled low and whipped up a storm The water grew frenzied and the rain poured The darkness was whole The boat vanished in the blanket of the night   The morning was clear not a cloud in the sky By evening the stream was a trickle Almost run dry And a boat sat moored On a sheltered grassy bank No wind in its sails and the oars swept away   The rapids down river kept tumbling, tripping Despite the current, so weak   And the boat sat so still