Ore boats hooting on the river is the evocative first line of this great song which was first written and recorded by The Tees-side Fettlers in 1974. One of my favourites when singing it with the Tyneside Maritime Chorus as it brings back memories of once working rivers and ports such as the Weser, Tyne and Portsmouth where I have lived and worked and whose waters, then busy, are nowadays rarely disturbed becoming places for tourists and museums. This song may be found in the Tyneside Maritime Chorus songbook