Sting
Lyric guide

What Have We Got?

Read What Have We Got? lyrics by Sting on LyroVerse, with linked artist context and related song paths.

Sting visibility1 visits
person Curated by Ethan Walker LyroVerse team
Reference snapshot

The page facts to cite before the commentary

Use this page for the lyric text, linked artist context, and any LyroVerse editor's note attached to the song. Listener comments remain user-generated and should not be treated as the primary source.

Page type: lyric reference Artist: Sting Canonical path: /sting/what-have-we-got Related lyric paths: 6
Lyrics

What Have We Got?

The lyric stays readable and compact here; the note and related paths sit nearby so you do not lose the song while looking for context.

Good people, give ear to me story

Pay attention, and none of your lip

For I've brought you five lads and their daddy

Intending to build ye's a ship

Wallsend is wor habitation

It's the place we was all born and bred

And there's nay finer lads in the nation

And none are more gallantly led (1, 2, 3!)

What have we got, but the buzzer in the morning?

Aye, and what have we got, but the laying of a keel?

And what have we got, but the cranes above us, soaring

The commotion and the clamour in the welding of the steel?

What have we got, but the mist upon the river?

Tell me, what have we got, but that noise inside the hold?

Oh, what have we got, but the arse end of the weather

Where we work in horizontal rain, and shiver in the cold?

What do ye got? (What do we got?)

What do ye got? (What do we got?)

You've got nowt, we've got nowt else

What do ye got? (What do we got?)

What do ye got? (What do we got?)

You've got nowt, we've got nowt else

What have ye got, but the singing in the cables?

Oh, what have ye got, but the ringing in your ears?

Aye, what have ye got, but the telling of the fables

And the memories of the ships, that we've been building donkey's years?

What do ye got? (What do we got?)

What do ye got? (What do we got?)

You've got nowt, we've got nowt else

What do ye got? (What do we got?)

What do ye got? (What do we got?)

You've got nowt, we've got nowt else

Aye, you've got to die of something

It's written in your fate

Ye might as well die of a Tuesday

And woe betide you're late

What have ye got, all you, men, what's fit and able?

What have ye got, for the straining in your neck?

What have ye got, when you're laid out on the table

And the snapping of a cable when the rigging hits the deck?

What have ye got, but the loyalty of brothers?

What have ye got, but this union of the dock?

What have ye got, a bacon sandwich from your mother

Not a promise of another with the punching of the clock?

What do ye got? (What do we got?)

What do ye got? (What do we got?)

You've got nowt, we've got nowt else

What do ye got? (What do we got?)

What do ye got? (What do we got?)

You've got nowt, we've got nowt else

What do ye got? (What do we got?)

What do ye got? (What do we got?)

You've got nowt, we've got nowt else

Quick answers

What this page can answer fast

Who performs "What Have We Got?"?

Sting performs "What Have We Got?", and this lyric page sits inside the Sting catalog on LyroVerse.

Are there related songs to explore after "What Have We Got?"?

Yes. The related section below points to If I Ever Lose My Faith and I Saw Three Ships with a short reason for opening each page next.

Where can I find more songs by Sting?

Use the artist link near the top of the page or the related paths section below to keep moving through Sting's lyric pages.

Song Room

Interpretations, questions, and corrections for this song

Interpretations, questions, memories, and correction notes live together here. The room stays noindex while the best insights are reviewed.

Open Song Room
0 followers Selected insights only surface after moderation
Listener comments

What people are saying

0 comments
Add a short interpretation or memory

A strong comment here is specific: the phrase you keep hearing, the mood you come back for, or the reason this song stays in rotation.

Sign in to post the first listener note. Reporting stays open to everyone.

No listener comments on What Have We Got? yet.