Standard (EADGBE)
My father worked for buttons in a wee dry salters shop
But we were young and didnae have a care
Our shoes were scuffed and worn, our dungarees a' torn
Our sloppy joes they wirnae fit to wear
Noo me and ma wee brother we were headaches to my mother
And dirty for the best port o' the year
But she had us clean as whistles in our kilts and co-op sandals
When we went down the watter for the fair
Chorus
And we're sailing doon the Clyde, sailing doon the Clyde
And headin' for Kilgreggan in the morning
Then on to Rothesay Bay we'd leave on Saturday
To catch the Jeannie Dean frae Crigendoran
The summertime was all I'm sure that kept my father gain'
A time that he enjoyed as much as me
The family a' the gither we didnae mind the weather
He'd laugh and sing and bounce us on each knee
'0 toora loora liddey ah finish work on Friday'
His troubles seem to vanish in the air
Ah but noo he's gone forever like the steamers on the river
That went sailing doon the wafter for the fair
The golden age of paddle steamers sadly disappeared
And summertime has never been the same
Those days of river cruisin' that slowly we were losing
An era that will never come again
For now we fly to Malta Majorca and Gibralter
France and Spain and sunny Italy
A' the kids a' think it's heaven like the Clyde for me at seven
But the days of doon the watter's gone for me