The Tugboat Captain

(Words by: Mary Garvey  –  Music & Performance by: Watch the Sky  –  Song Notes: by Alice Winship)

LYRICS

Mary Garvey

Mary Garvey

At the end of the day there is no one so snug
As Captain Knutsen in his warm little tug
With a fresh pot of coffee he’ll pour you a mug
Captain Knutsen in his warm little tug

Chorus:

For towing your logs or pushing your barge
He’s a man who is worth whatever he’ll charge
The tugboat is small but the engine is large
He’s a man who is worth whatever he’ll charge

Watch the Sky smaller

Watch the Sky

Try as he will he just can not explain
How he does what he does in the wind and the rain
Never tipping a load never twisting a chain
He does what he does in the wind and the rain

In this neck of the woods made of cedar and moss
The tugboat is king but the river is boss
It don’t care if your name should be Simpson or Foss
The tugboat is king but the river is boss

The lanterns are gleaming the cables are tight
And as long as the foghorns still blast in the night
You’ll know that this part of the world is all right
As long as the foghorns still blast in the night.


NOTES

The lyrics to this song were written by Mary Garvey, about tugboats on the lower Columbia River. The music was written collectively by the group Watch the Sky! – Jan Elliot-Glanister, Chris Glanister and Joe Wagner.

The name ‘Knutsen’ reflects the strong influence of Scandinavians in the Pacific Northwest, especially in the maritime industry. But instead of giving these lyrics a jaunty, Scandinavian-style tune, Watch the Sky has written a minor-key Celtic melody which captures the brooding atmosphere of the fog-ridden lower Columbia. Although the Native Americans of the Northwest did not historically play whistle or flute, the whistle and drum parts on this piece somehow draw one into the past of the landscape, evoking the power of the river and the mystery of the foggy, tree-covered shores.

Chris Glanister, the lead vocalist, is secretly British, although usually this is only revealed by his passion for American-style all-night diners. But occasionally a British inflection shows through his carefully acquired American accent, in this song giving a somehow appropriate twist to the line, ‘I don’t care if your name should be Simpson or Foss’.

Simpson operates lumber and pulp mills in Western Washington, and Foss has one of the largest fleets of tugboats on the West Coast. Both of these industrial giants were originally family owned. (Later in this CD, Chris Roe tells the story of the beginning of Foss Launch & Tug in her song, ‘Thea Foss’.) Nearly all the Foss tugs are named for members of the Foss family, descendants of Thea Foss. (Regardless of the last name of the family member, the tugboat is given the last name ‘Foss’.)

‘The tugboat is small, but the engine is large’

Although larger tugboats may be over 100 feet long, they are still small compared to the loads they move. A tugboat has been described as ‘an engine with a hull around it.’ On any tug, the engine takes most of the space, and crew quarters are minimal and efficient.

Watch the song lyrics on this CD for references to coffee. Long before latte stands could be found on nearly every street corner in Seattle, coffee was as essential on Northwest tugboats as the diesel that fuels the engines.

  • Words by Mary Garvey
  • Music by Watch the Sky
  • Performed by Watch the Sky
  • Recorded at ShoeString Studios, Edmonds, WA
    • Lead vocal, Whistle, & Cittern: Chris Glanister
    • Harmony vocals, Bodhran, & Eggs: Jan Elliott-Glanister
    • Guitar: Joe Wagner

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