The Ships That Won't Go Down

We hear a great commotion     'Bout the ship that comes to grief,     That founders in mid-ocean,     Or is driven on a reef;     Because it's cheap and brittle     A score of sinners drown.     But we hear but mighty little     Of the ships that won't go down.     Here's honour to the builders,     The builders of the past;     Here's honour to the builders     That builded ships to last;     Here's honour to the captain,     And honour to the crew;     Here's double-column headlines     To the ships that battle through.     They make a great sensation     About famous men that fail,     That sink a world of chances     In the city morgue or gaol,     Who drink, or blow their brains out,     Because of "Fortune's frown".     But we hear far too little     Of the men who won't go down.     The world is full of trouble,     And the world is full of wrong,     But the heart of man is noble,     And the heart of man is strong!     They say the sea sings dirges,     But I would say to you     That the wild wave's song's a paean     For the men that battle through.