Chorus: Ilya ho boys, let her go boys Turn her head round now all together Ilya ho boys, let her go boys Sailing homeward to Mingulay What care we how white the Minch is What care we for wind and weather? When we know that every inch is Wearing homeward to Mingulay Wives are waiting on the bank Or looking seaward from the heather Turn her 'round boys and we'll anchor 'ere the sun sets in Mingulay -------------------------- Westering home and a song in the air Light in the eye and it's goodbye to care Laughter or love and a welcoming there Land of my heart my own one Tell me a tale of the Orient gay Speak of the riches and joys of Cathay Aye but it's grand to be waking each day To find myself closer to Islay Where are there folk like the folk of the West? Couthy and canty and kindly the best There I will hie and there I will rest There with my ain folk in Islay!

Wind on the water come blow me Downeast again Back to my islands in time Wings on my friendship will carry me home again Back to my islands in time Dark spruce and granite stand watch on the turning tide Foghorn and beacon and bell be my guide Mussel Ridge and Isle au Haut, Vinalhaven, Jericho There lie my islands in time Far on my dreamtide I hear them calling me Back to my islands in time Southwind in springtime will carry me east again Back to my islands in time Dark spruce and granite etc.

Oh what has become of the old liars all Julian and Manley and Frankie and Paul? Down at the co-op when fish weren't so few They'd lie through their teeth and they'd swear it was true On warm afternoons in the summer we'd go With handline and bucket to the harbor below To the dock with the rope and the chains and the spars Where the weathered old planks smelled of bait and of tar The fish house was piled high with old fishing gear With a sign that said something 'bout "All the bull here" In a big leather armchair a white-haired old man Would give us a soda and a handful of clams Sometimes there were others who sat in the shack A-telling their stories of fishing 'way back When the weather was better or worse than right now They always would say it was bigger somehow They'd tell of the days when they hauled traps by hand Out in their dories away from the land In the winter they'd row till their hands would turn blue And some of the stories you knew could be true But then they'd continue with never a smile And tell of the day when they rowed fifty miles Blinded by fogbanks and capsized by storms And rescued by mermaids with gold on their arms Then there was the one 'bout the fisherman's ghost Doomed to eternity because of a boast His coming would warn all the sailors of gales The wilder the weather, the stranger their tales Then we'd run down the gangplank and bait up our lines And drop the weight down where the flounder are fine And wait for the tug that sometimes never came Then we'd go up and bother the old men again And now that they're gone I feel empty inside Though people will tell me their jaw was all lies Their tales were as true as the tide and the breeze My children will never hear stories like these

Now a skipper that we know who was famous long ago Was looking for a ship for his was run aground Though it was sometimes stated 'twas the way he navigated Ol' Cappy John was rated as the finest man around Now there was a ship nearby that he wanted for to try It belonged to Ned McKenzie and was called the Mary Beale But old John was shy of girls and the place was full of curls And he didn't have the nerve to go up and make his deal Chorus She carries her bow high and her stern is nice and round It's easy to hold her when she's sheeted down She is my heart's desire and all that I require Is that you let me try her when I come to town Now the mate, whose name was Dan, Up and says to the old man "I can sound McKenzie out and then clear away the girls I will see that it's alright if you want to go tonight For that ship she is a sight, she's the best in all the world" So Dan goes to McKenzie but somehow in all the frenzy There was some misunderstanding And he got the message wrong Or perhaps the silly goomer had a twisted sense of humor But when Cappy came to view her he was singing this song Chorus McKenzie shook his hand and he says "I understand that you want to take my Mary away from me Now before with you I send her I must tell you she is tender Which I'll thank you to remember when you take her out to sea" So John says "Dan must have told that I want to fill her hold; With a belly full of cargo I know she'll handle fine I promise not to break her and if ever I forsake her, Then I know the mate will take her for he's a friend of mine" Chorus Says McKenzie "Are you mad? for you talk just like a cad To throw my Mary over like some trollop in Rangoon She isn't just some fun thing (though I might permit some bundling) But I will tell you one thing, you must make your offer soon" Says John "I can't commit, until one thing you permit You must let me roll her over on the sand beside the bay I will have my men inspect her and still I may reject her If her bottom is neglected or has started to decay" Chorus Says McKenzie "I can't stand it; you are worse than any bandit Since the two of you have planned it 'tis yourselves that should begin" He called Mary from the kitchen: Cappy John he started twitchin' But the girl she was bewitchin' and she smiled as she came in Now the mate, he oiled the water, And the skipper got the daughter He's as happy as an otter with his dear and blushing bride Though it seemed a bright invention He'd the good sense not to mention That it wasn't his intention, AND HE GOT THE SHIP BESIDES!

When you went down to the shore last night what did you see? Did you see a lofty ship sailing fast and free? Sail away, sail away, sailing fast and free Sail away, sail away, across the moonlit sea When I went down to the shore last night a ship I saw And the moon was like a shining sail there in the rigging tall Shine away, shine away, there in the rigging tall Shine away, shine away, a light to guide them all And there upon that moonlit ship did you see a man Who stood so tall upon the deck with sailors at command Standing tall, standing tall, with sailors at command Standing tall, standing tall so strong of voice and hand Alas I saw no captain brave standing tall and true Indeed I saw not a soul on board, neither captain or crew Not a soul, not a soul did man the ship as she flew Not a soul, not a soul, and the wind in the rigging blew

Three fishers went sailing out into the west Into the west as the sun went down Each thought on the woman who loved him the best And the children stood watching them out of the town For men must work and women must weep For there's little to earn and there's many to keep Though the harbor bar be moaning Though the harbor bar be moaning Three wives sat up in the lighthouse tower And they trimmed the lamps as the sun went down They looked at the squall and they looked at the shower And the night wrack came rolling up ragged and brown For men must work and women must weep Though the storms be sudden and the waters be deep And the harbor bar be moaning And the harbor bar be moaning Three corpses lay out on the shining sand In the morning gleam as the tide went down And the women are weeping and wringing their hands For those who will never come home to the town For men must work and women must weep And the sooner it's over, the sooner to sleep And goodbye to the bar and its moaning And goodbye to the bar and its moaning For men must work and women must weep For there's little to earn and there's many to keep Though the harbor bar be moaning Though the harbor bar be moaning

Bless this boat And those who take her out upon the northern seas Always carry them to plenty And bring them safely home again Homeward Bound, Homeward Bound Once you were A dream that led a young heart to the waiting sea Generations ask in silence Bring them safely home again Homeward Bound, Homeward Bound Brave the gales of late November Find a path through summer fog Weather all the storms of winter April brings new hope Bless this boat And those who take her out to work the northern deep Take them to good life and living And bring them safely home again Homeward Bound, Homeward Bound Homeward Bound, Homeward Bound

I see a beacon on the rocks above the swirling foam A shining light that through the night is welcoming us home And in the morning standing proudly in the rising sun It signals to all wanderers their new day has begun Chorus: The Lighthouse on the Shore, wherever we may roam The Lighthouse on the Shore will guide the traveler home When sailing vessels plowed the seas for fortune and for fame All sailors feared the dangers on the rocky coast of Maine They prayed for mercy from the wild and restless wind and wave And for a guiding light to keep them from a watery grave Our fathers built the lighthouse for the benefit of all For ships of every nation, for vessels great and small Just as it lifts the spirits of the mariner homeward bound We too can find direction when there's darkness all around

I's the b'y that builds the boat, and I's the b'y that sails her, I's the b'y that catches the fish, And takes 'em home to Liza. Hip your partner, Sally Tibble, Hip your partner, Sally Brown, Fogo, Twillingate, Morton's Harbour, All around the circle I took Liza to a dance, And faith, but she could travel! And every step that she did take Was up to her knees in gravel! Susan White, she's out of sight, Her petticoat needs a border, Old Sir Oliver in the dark He kissed her in the corner! Sods and rinds to cover your flake, Tay and cake for supper, Codfish in the spring of the year, Fried in maggoty butter!

May there always be safe haven from the storm May the sun glow softly on your skin May the stars shine bright, may the dawn come clear May you always run before the wind May you always find a kind and listening ear May the stranger think of you as kin May the stars shine bright, may the dawn come clear May you always run before the wind And if the world turns you upside down Remember, it keeps turning 'round May the tears you shed be only those of joy May you always be glad of where you've been May the stars shine bright, may the dawn come clear May you always run before the wind