In Ostend a woman
Cries in her chair
Her cat in her arms
Its love all she has
She speaks not a word
In the depths of her sorrow
And the old men each think
It will next be his turn
Out in the kitchen
Her neighbours are talking
Of China
And of the girl who has come
From Singapore
A woman of Java
A sister of all the girls of Ostend
Chorus
There are only two kinds of time
The time we spend waiting
And time spent in hope
There are only two kinds of people
Those still alive
And those out at sea
In Ostend the woman
Her pain beyond easing
Alone in her chair
Alone with her wound
While on the dockside
The sailors are milling
Leaving their ships
For the streets of Ostend
And there is the captain
His stomach is shaking
Bloated with beer, walking alone
A man of deep mystery
A man of the stars
Resting one night
In the port of Ostend
Chorus
In Ostend the woman
In the heat of midsummer
Became the lover
Of a pharmacist
Her captain lies dead
Beneath his fat stomach
Like the great whales
And submarines
And I who am no more
Than just the ship’s boy
Write you this letter
From so far away
Because I love you
Love you far too much
I am afraid of a pharmacist
There are only two kinds of time
The time we spend waiting
And time spent in hope
There are only two kinds of people
Those still alive
And me here at sea