 | Miscellaneous poems |  |
201
SONG.
AMERICA, COMMERCE & FREEDOM.
How blest a life a sailor leads,
From clime to clime still ranging;
For as the calm the storm succeeds,
The scene delights by changing.
When tempests howl along the main,
Some object will remind us,
And cheer with hopes to meet again
Those friends we've left behind us.
Then under snug sail, we laugh at the gale,
And tho' landsmen look pale, never heed 'em;
But toss off a glass, to a favourite lass,
To America, Commerce, and Freedom.
From clime to clime still ranging;
For as the calm the storm succeeds,
The scene delights by changing.
When tempests howl along the main,
Some object will remind us,
And cheer with hopes to meet again
Those friends we've left behind us.
Then under snug sail, we laugh at the gale,
And tho' landsmen look pale, never heed 'em;
But toss off a glass, to a favourite lass,
To America, Commerce, and Freedom.
202
And when arrived in sight of land,
Or safe in port rejoicing,
Our ship we moor, our sails we hand,
Whilst out the boat is hoisting.
With eager haste the shore we reach,
Our friends, delighted, greet us;
And, tripping lightly o'er the beach,
The pretty lasses meet us.
When the full flowing bowl, has enliven'd the soul,
To foot it we merrily lead 'em,
And each bonny lass will drink off a glass,
To America, Commerce and Freedom.
Or safe in port rejoicing,
Our ship we moor, our sails we hand,
Whilst out the boat is hoisting.
With eager haste the shore we reach,
Our friends, delighted, greet us;
And, tripping lightly o'er the beach,
The pretty lasses meet us.
When the full flowing bowl, has enliven'd the soul,
To foot it we merrily lead 'em,
And each bonny lass will drink off a glass,
To America, Commerce and Freedom.
Our cargo sold, the chink we share,
And gladly we receive it;
And if we meet a brother Tar,
Who wants, we freely give it.
No free born sailor yet had store,
But cheerfully would lend it;
And when 'tis gone, to sea for more,
We earn it, but to spend it.
Then drink round my boys, 'tis the first of our joys,
To relieve the distress'd, clothe and feed 'em;
'Tis a task which we share, with the brave and the fair,
In this land of Commerce and Freedom.
And gladly we receive it;
And if we meet a brother Tar,
Who wants, we freely give it.
No free born sailor yet had store,
But cheerfully would lend it;
203
We earn it, but to spend it.
Then drink round my boys, 'tis the first of our joys,
To relieve the distress'd, clothe and feed 'em;
'Tis a task which we share, with the brave and the fair,
In this land of Commerce and Freedom.
| Miscellaneous poems | |