Song of the Sailor Boy
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Oh! I love the great blue ocean,

I love the whistling breeze,

When the gallant ship sweeps lightly

Across the surging seas.

I watched my first ship building;

I saw her timbers rise,

Until her masts were towering

Up in the bright blue skies.



I heard the cheers ascending,

I saw her kiss the foam,

When first her hull went plunging

Into her ocean home.

Her flags were gaily streaming,

And her sails were full and round,

When the shout from shore came ringing,

“Hurrah! for the Outward-bound!”



But, alas! ere long a tempest

Came down with awful roar

And dashed our ship in pieces

Upon a foreign shore.

But He who holds the waters

In His almighty hand,

Brought all the sailors safely

Back to their native land.

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From The Life of a Ship from the Launch to the Wreck by R.M. Ballantyne