CHORUS

That poor old ship the Kirki

Weren't feeling none too perky

When she cracked in half and spilled her guts across the western shore

Got no use for an anchor

When the front falls off your tanker

Put out the fire and scrap her ‘cause she won't haul crude no more

‘Twas July of 1991, Paul Keating’s reign not yet begun

When a mighty supertanker to Australia set sail

Near 18,000 tonnes of oil the pristine seas would soon despoil

‘Cause the Kirki hit a wave and half its bloody structure failed

CHORUS

Well, the ship was fully loaded when the whole damn thing exploded

The bow tore off, the oil poured out and set the seas aflame

A fleet of rescue choppers flew to save the 37 crew

While the wind and waves did battle ‘till the fire was finally tamed

CHORUS

Now they couldn't leave her restin’ so they towed her to Cape Preston

Where the salvagers’ inspection showed cracks, holes and rust galore

They relieved her of her oil but she wasn't fit to toil

So they hauled her to the scrapyard way up north in Singapore

CHORUS

Well Jesus what a travesty, but oh God bless the ABC

‘Cause Clarke and Dawe were there for us with helpful, sage advice:

Don’t make your ships from paper, and don’t you sellotape her –

Just build ‘em so the front stays on, that really would be nice

CHORUS

Now all you sailors take some learning from this catastrophic burning

Corporate greed will cut the corners, and we'll all pay every time

Our worst spill ‘till then in history, why it happened is no mystery

But they saved the fucking oil, so hey I guess it turned out fine