In Margate on the promenade
Where the tourists sit when it's fine
There stood an old man selling souvenirs with a big tin shell as his sign
That old man had a pail
Of painted shells for sale
And everyone could hear him yell, "Shell, shell, shell"
Seashells from Margate
Act like a charm
Seashells with gold decorations
Seashells from Margate
Cannot do you harm
Keep the memory warm
Reminding you of happy vacations
In Margate on the promenade there's a stink to raise the dead
Where once a pail of seashells stood there's an oil tank now instead
The old man had a son who found a fortune buried underground
And now the son prefers to sell
Shell, shell, shell
Seashells from Margate
Act like a charm
Seashells with gold decorations
Seashells from Margate
Cannot do you harm
Keep the memory warm
Responding to your great expectations
And as the oil began to flow
To that seaside town of ours
They hanged a lot of Bolsheviks from the Baku drilling towers
They showed that they were loyal by turning blood to oil
A thousand corpses make a well
Shell, shell, shell
Seashells from Margate
Act like a charm
Seashells with gold decorations
Seashells from Margate
Cannot do you harm
Keep the memory warm
Recording mass exterminations
And as the summer sun shone bright
On that seaside town of ours
The oil began to catch alight
And no land remained unscarred
The whole world was aflame
But oil was our country's name
And all the rest can go to hell
Shell, shell, shell
Seashells from Margate
Act like a charm
Seashells with gold decorations
Seashells from Margate
Cannot do you harm
Not until we arm
For the final confrontation
