The CAN DO

"The CAN DO was a pilot boat out of Gloucester, MA. The GLOBAL HOPE went aground just off Salem, MA, and pictures at the time showed her almost on the beach. The radio did go dead (at least so reported in the press) which is why they were unable to get a fix on their location. The CAN DO in effect went out blind with only the most general idea of where to look. Contact was then lost with CAN DO and the men were washed (ashore) a days later, again around Salem. The GLOBAL HOPE was sold for scrap." ~ Brian Flynn

In a dozen coastal towns, when the sun is going down

The boats are tied and the fishing is all through

For another shot-and-beer you'll likely get to hear

Of the pilot boat they call the CAN DO

Chorus:

Then lift your glass to the seasons as they pass

To the men who sail the seas alone

Say a prayer for the women waiting there

For the men who never will come home

A blizzard from the North blew the tanker off her course

And the GLOBAL HOPE was grounded on the sand

There were forty men they said, then the radio went dead

And no one knew they were just a mile from land

Well the CAN DO heard the call, and their boat was very small

They wondered how a tanker could get lost

And like a single silent voice, they knew they had no choice

But to find the GLOBAL HOPE at any cost

Well the snow made them blind

and the seas could read their mind

And the wind laughed at every turn they made

'Til a big one hit the side and flipped her like a dime

And it drove her like a nail into the wave

There's a little boy who plays by the harbor every day

And his mother cannot hide her tears for long

For she knows salt water runs in the blood of sailors' sons

And she knows there's no ending to this song

For they're cruising where it's warm and they'll never see the storm

And they never, never will come home

The CAN DO is recorded on the album Language of the Heart