Lyrics: Robert Wyatt. Shipbuilding.

Is it worth it?
A new winter coat
And shoes for the wife
And a bicycle
On the boy's birthday

It's just a rumor
That was spread around town
By the women and children
Soon we'll be shipbuilding

Well, I ask you
The boy said, "Dad
They're going to take me to task
But I'll be home by Christmas"

It's just a rumor
That was spread around town
Somebody said
That someone got filled in
For saying that people get killed
In the results of their shipbuilding

With all the will in the world
Diving for dear life
When we could be diving for pearls

It's just a rumor
That was spread around town
A telegram for a picture postcard
Within weeks
They'll be reopening the shipyard
And notifying the next of kin once again

It's all we're skilled in
We will be shipbuilding

With all the will in the world
Diving for dear life
When we could be diving for pearls