Fishermen don't put your boats out to sea
There's a storm on the rise
The tide's on the turn and the wind's come away 
There's turmoil ahead in the skies
It could be a day or a week or an age 
As we wait for the gale to come around 
There's mouths to be fed and there's bills to be paid
Before we return to the ground

Roll the ocean, roll the sea
Roll the ocean, roll the sea

Living's not easy with quotas cut down 
Prices so low on the key
To sell up and move on could be the best way 
If we knew more than life on the sea
As the trawlers have all got their sat-com and sonars 
It's hard toil with hauler and creels
And the smaller boats forced into treacherous waters 
The inner lochs long ago gleaned

Roll the ocean, roll the sea
Roll the ocean, roll the sea

The ocean's a safe place for each man and all
If treated with care and respect
But with tie-ups and curfews enforced in more sectors
You've got to chance fate on the decks
Captain and crew are all one and the same 
When it comes down to sharing the pay
For the harder your toil and the longer your steam 
The more chance of taking a wage

Roll the ocean, roll the sea
Roll the ocean, roll the sea