I used to come home very very late  Boots by the hob and gob on the grate  Father waiting with his pipe in his hand  He blew me upstairs with his reprimand  One fine day I was out all night  There he was gone, it gave me a fright  I went out looking in my little boat  So full of hope it could hardly float  Following in fathers footsteps  down the line, down the line  I came to an island, the shape of a cross  It had to be my mother's, she met me with a kiss  She said, You're looking thin (I was feeling fat)  And no girl's gonna look at you with shoes like that  Wishes are sharks if troubles are a sea  She arms herself with another pot of tea  A long long time she's been marooned  Dishing up her love with serving spoons  Following in father's footsteps  down the line, all down the line  I found him in the end, years down the roads,  Rowing home without any load  Why has your hair gone so white I? I cried  And have you brought us gifts from the world so wide?  A finger to his lips, he took me aside  He looked like a man with something to hide, he said  All I ever got from following my wish  Was a wet arse and not a lot of fish  Somewhere in his mind he's waiting up for me  Like a fisherman whose sons have run away to sea  Sometimes the lines get slack, so it's  High time I covered up my tracks  Following in father's footsteps  down the line, all down the line