When you come afloat before the morning does And you're towing through the summer weather And you keep no clock but the ebb and flow She's a gentle, easy flowing river Oh, I punch me way through the deep spring gale When you stand on board your barge and shiver And go creeping slow 'gainst the ways of water With the ebb tide pushing down the river And it's cold onboard in the winter dark And you think that the night will last forever And you crouch and wait below in your cabin 'Til the dawn tide takes you down the river And thou stood on deck in the lightning storms When the big waves bump the boats together And the thunder shakes the sea below you And you're working on the open river Oh, she ebbs and flows with her rain and oil When London's gone, she'll flow on forever To the sea and brine, to the black salt water She's a gentle, easy flowing river Aye, she ebbs and flows with her rain and oil When London's gone, she'll flow on forever To the sea and brine, to the black salt water She's a gentle, easy flowing river