 | Poems and Songs |  |
73
When the Ships come Sailing in.
I
God prosper long the good old town,The toilful and the free;
For she has bravely broken down
The toll-bar of the sea:
And now the victory is won
For which we fought so long,
To all the wide world thus shall run
The burden of my song:
Let it float in free, from the open sea;
Wide brotherhood shall win;
And the good old town shall smile again,
When the ships come sailing in!
II
The ocean to mankind belongs;You cannot tax its waves;
'Tis the stormy highway of the strong;
With free delight it laves
The shores of earth's far sundered lands;
And on its heaving breast,
With equal pride, from distant strands,
It brings what each yields best:
74
Wide brotherhood shall win;
And the good old town shall smile again,
When the ships come sailing in!
III
The bounteous gifts of nature rangeEach on its favoured shore;
The whole wide world is man's exchange,
His market and his store:
For kindly harmony designed,
Earth's varied fruits are sent;
For mutual benefit combined,
And friendly commerce meant:
Let it float in free, from the open sea;
Kind botherhood shall win;
And the good old town shall smile again,
When the ships come sailing in!
| Poems and Songs | |