Walking on cobbled stones, little bits of skin and bone
Jumping on a tram car for a ride
I can remember then, I was a just a boy of ten
Hanging around the old Quayside.
Now all the capstans and the cargo boats
And Stevadores are gone
To where all the old ships go
But memories, just like the sea live on

'Cause that was when coal was King
The river was a living thing
And I was just a boy but it was mine
The coaly Tyne.

This was a big river
I want you all to know
That I was proud
This was a big river
But that was long ago
That's not now, that's not now

My father was working man
He earned our living with his hands
He had to cross the river every day
He picked up a Union card, out of the Neptune yard
Mouths to feed and bills to pay
There came a time for him to sail across the sea and far away
And finally when that war was won