You know, as a child, he heard tell of the seven mile bridge That connected on marathon shore Yes, and it was the gateway key west his grandpa Had told him ten times or more. The stories of some sailors curse on the bridge Where it opens to let the boats through But the natives all laugh at grandpas old stories And swear that it just isn't true Now most of them sail across to miami From the edge of the blue water line With crawfish and snappers to sell at the market For money to spend on some wine They always cross through at the seven mile bridge Except when the moon comes out full They're not superstitious they tell you as they are Repeating that old seaman's rule Watch out for those outlaws and pirates Lord knows that they'll steal you blind Don't mess around with those cutthroats and thieves They're robbers and k**ers of time And there's nothing worse than an old sailors curse On the seven mile bridge where you find They're stealing the future and making believe The past is still somewhere behind The seven mile bridge, the seven mile bridge And he found a woman who'd come here from cuba She gave him a son and a dream They lived in a conch house somewhere on stock island With the seven mile bridge in between Shed spent her nights on the window walk wondering If he'd safely pull through the storm While he spent his money on painted up women And whisky to keep hi blood warm Then he'd gamble on crab races till he was broke While she sat up waiting all night Then felling too guilty to face her and tell her He'd look for some bully to fight At the end of the rainbow where the sun always shines Just south of the seven mile bridge She waits at the window for signs of his sailboat And tries not to worried the kids She sneaks a few drinks from the bottle she hides From a husband that's to tired to think With feelings of guilt she picks up the bottle And pours the remains in the sink Now she thinks of the men that stare at her boldly They know she's a woman alone With fingers that tremble she touches her body And wishes her man would come home Now the years pa** so quickly for time is a thief His skin looks like leather by now His woman's got fat and lost all her beauty But, lord, she's lived up to her vow She looks at her son that's going on twenty He's ready to live his own life She hopes he can find a sea worthy woman A sailor sure needs a good wife Why he's just like his daddy, she thinks as she watches Him weaving those fish nets all day Knowing that some time the seven mile bridge Will take him and lead him astray He might return his woman would learn Broke like his daddy and drunk She wrote down some words on an old piece of sail cloth Nailed it over his bunk Why then, she packed his sea bag and filled up his trunk His new wife would want it that way Just before the old man shook the younger lads hand These are the words he did say