The Oil Song
Steve Forbert Lyrics

Oh the engine's gone dead, cried the men who work there
The machinery stopped working on the oil rig

And she passed up the dock on the wide Delaware
A ship sailed past the Delaware dock

Then the ship ran aground and the oil got away
A ship crashed and spilled oil into the water

And they penned that report, "The Big Spill" on that day
The spill was documented as "The Big Spill"

It was hundreds of thousands of gallons galore
There were a vast amount of gallons spilled

Stretching thirty-two miles down the Delaware shore
The spill stretched 32 miles down the coast

There were geese in the marshes out looking for food
Birds in the area were affected by the spill

They got stuck where they stood in the oncoming crude
The oil trapped and harmed wildlife

And it's oil, oil Ah, drifting to the sea
Oil is flowing out to the ocean

Don't buy it at the station, you can have it now for free Just come on down to the shoreline where the water used to be
The oil spilling is free, and can be found where water used to be

In the well-charted waters of the Nantucket shoals
A ship spilled oil in the Nantucket shoals

There's a ship run aground full of oil, we were told
A ship stuck on the shore with oil on board

It was seven-point-six million gallons this time
7.6 million gallons were spilled this time

Consider the danger and think of the crime
Reflect on the severity of the situation

As it poured out a slick stretching into the tide
The oil formed a slick covering a large area

Over hundred-miles and yes, it came deep, it came wide
The spill covered over 100 miles of water

There's talk of some writing found in the ship's log
A ship's log was found with concerning information

Saying one of the helmsmen's unfit for his job
A crew member was not qualified for their job

And the ship's gyro compass was six degrees shy
The ship's navigation equipment was faulty

Their charts were outdated but they, they tried to get by
The navigation system was outdated, but they still attempted to navigate

Now both of these ships, like a great many more
Many ships have been involved in oil spills

Got registered in through Liberian doors
The ships were registered in Liberia to avoid regulations

Inspections are quick and regulations are few
The inspection process is fast and regulations are scarce

Just sign on the line and go find you a crew, yes
It is easy to register and hire a crew

One of these ships was the Olympic Games
One of the ships was named Olympic Games

The Argo Merchant was the other one's name
The other ship was called Argo Merchant

Well it's sad, but it's true, things got worse for the seas
The situation for the environment worsened

'Cause I ain't even mentioned Amoco Cadiz
There was another major oil spill not yet mentioned

Amoco Cadiz, between England and France
Amoco Cadiz was an oil spill between England and France

The big super tanker out there taking it's chance
A large oil tanker was involved

With its one-hundred-thousand black tons of the slime
The tanker contained 100,000 tons of harmful oil

Amoco Cadiz spilled the most of all time
Amoco Cadiz was the largest oil spill in history

Now down in the Gulf east of Mexico Way
In the Gulf near Mexico

There's something gone wrong, so the papers all say
Media reports suggest a problem

A Mexican oil well is leaking it's goo
An oil well is leaking oil

They say it's the worse that things have ever come to
The situation is the worst it's ever been

Yes it's gallons of sludge, sixty-million and more
Over 60 million gallons have been spilled

It's cruising and oozing towards many a shore
The oil is moving towards many shorelines

If you can't drink the oil, oh, you might, you might die of thirst
The oil spill could have severe repercussions on the environment and people living in the area