Out in Hull, the trawlers cast away,

Out in Hull, the trawlers cast away, For three weeks under skies of steel and grey. Nets heavy with the ocean’s prize, They fight the waves, beneath cold skies. Three days at home, then off again, Some to the pubs, some to their kin. Hull’s millionaires for just three days— A fleeting taste of shorebound ways. Chorus: Never wash on sailing day, Or you might wash your man away. No wave goodbye, no quay side kiss, Our men are off to sea. So sisters, tie your headscarves strong, To London streets we must march along. Shout loud to those in Downing Street— Safety for our fishing fleet. We are Hull’s Headscarf Heroes, We are Hull’s Headscarf Heroes. In ’68 the storm rolled in, With bitter winds and waves that pinned. Three trawlers lost, brave souls adrift— Fifty-eight gone, lives torn and split. Only one returned to tell the tale, Of thirty-foot waves and hearts so frail. On Hessle Road the women cried, Their tears like oceans, far and wide. Chorus: Never wash on sailing day, Or you might wash your man away. No wave goodbye, no quay side kiss, Our men are off to sea. So sisters, tie your headscarves strong, To London streets we must march along. Shout loud to those in Downing Street— Safety for our fishing fleet. We are Hull’s Headscarf Heroes, We are Hull’s Headscarf Heroes. Now every dawn we stand as one, For every daughter, father, son. We’ll raise our voices, hold them tight— Demand they guard their lives each night. For Hull’s heart beats with fierce pride, A fishing town with tears it hides. And though the sea is deep and wide, We’ll never let their hope divide. Chorus: Never wash on sailing day, Or you might wash your man away. No wave goodbye, no quay side kiss, Our men are off to sea. So sisters, tie your headscarves strong, To London streets we must march along. Shout loud to those in Downing Street— Safety for our fishing fleet. We are Hull’s Headscarf Heroes, We are Hull’s Headscarf Heroes.