Weel Done, Cutty Sark

Listen to the song and see the words below

Chorus:

Oh weel done Cutty Sark,
Abune them a’ ye made yir mark,
‘Gainst the finest ships that sailed away,
Ye clipped their times by many a day.

Now the Cutty Sark was designed tae win,
By Bervie’s Hercules Linton,
Born a weaver’s son nearby the Mercat Cross,
Built the fastest clipper the seas tae cross.

Chorus:

Decks of teak and her iron frame,
Were her features which soon brought her fame,
Frae Dumbarton’s craftsmen skilled and fine, On the Clyde in 1869.

Chorus:

As she chased the winds wi’ her three big sails,
Round the Cape of Good Hope weathered many a gale,
She plied many a route tae many a land,
For the coveted prize of the Blue Riband.

Chorus:

Twenty six days they went neck an neck,
Till the Cutty Sark had her rudder wrecked,
In the greatest race that was ever seen,
‘Gainst Thermopylae oot o’ Aberdeen.

Chorus:

Harry Henderson made a makeshift steer,
Brought the Cutty Sark safe tae her pier,
From Australia on the old wool route, The fastest clipper, there wis nae doubt.

Chorus:

Through the Indian Ocean the China Seas,
Captain Woodget sailed her fast and free,
Through the roarin’ Forties, an’ the Doldrums rests,
By God that clipper was the best.

Chorus:

Now as steam began to outclass sail, The clippers saw their own death knell, As she sailed her last intae Greenwich quay, Tae be preserved wi’ pride and dignity,

Chorus:

Tae restore her tae her pristine state,
Was the nations wish, but the hand of fate,
Saw a fire rip through her tae her keel,
“Linton’s pride” survived all that as weel.

 

Presented to Gerald Bannerman on 21s t August 2009 in the Year of the Homecoming
Ramsay © September 2007
(Amended October 2008 to reflect the fire which broke out during the restoration of the Cutty Sark)

Amended May 2015, to include a reference to Captain Richard Woodget, for the visit to Scotland by Martin Woodgett, the great-grandson of Captain Richard Woodget, the longest serving Master of the Cutty Sark.

Martin Woodgett generously donated the large scale model of the Cutty Sark to the Maggie Law Maritime Museum in 2014, thereby providing new maritime heritage connections for the local area.