Quite possibly the only song ever written about a modern-day oil tanker, the upbeat 6/8 melody is that of a traditional Scottish song, "The Gallant Forty Twa" which was also recorded by the Clancys. It tells the story of Gulf's 300,000 dwt Universe Ireland, as well as mention of three other ships in the fleet: Universe Kuwait, Universe Japan, and Universe Portugal. The song alludes to the construction of still more vessels; these would later be the vessels rounding out the six-vessel Universe-class fleet, namely the Universe Iran and Universe Korea. Instrumentation in the song is simple, consisting of strummed banjo and guitar, as well as a solo tin whistle between verses.
