Four hundred thousand men left stranded Along the beaches of the coast of France Their backs against the cold North Sea No hope no place to go Then came a miracle, Operation Dynamo Those were the days of little ships Trawlermen put their lives at risk Manning each fishing boat alone To bring the unknown heroes back home Left sitting ducks for fighters overhead These brave young men are almost left for dead Then high on the horizon optimism grew when Hundreds of tiny vessels came sailing into view Those were the days of little ships Trawlermen put their lives at risk Manning each fishing boat alone To bring heroes home Oh, to bring heroes home Sail away to sanctuary All in the name of humanity (sail away) Those were the days of little ships Trawlermen put their lives at risk Manning each fishing boat alone To bring heroes home (oh, to bring heroes home) Those were the days of little ships Trawlermen put their lives at risk (oh, sail away) Manning each fishing boat alone To bring the unknown heroes back home Sail away to sanctuary All in the name of humanity Sail away to sanctuary In the name of humanity