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Long, long ago as our history shows,
Nearly one hundred years after Cabot came o'er,
Brittannia's rule reached out over the seas,
To make us her first colony.
In old St. John's Harbour one fine August day,
Gilbert's four ships in the still waters lay;
While just above King's Beach possession he laid,
Over Newfoundland turf for the Queen.
"I've set my heart on this country so grand,"
Were Gilbert's remarks 'fore he left Newfoundland;
Though he never reached Plymouth to tell the good news,
His last words spoke more than the truth.
We are nearer to heaven by sea,
As close to perfection as an island can be;
This world has its wonders, but it seems to me,
We are nearer to Heaven by sea.
Poets have praised this great country with pride,
From its vast rolling prairies to the Rockies so high;
And the north with its splendour of river and trees,
God's notion of freedom and peace.
And off to the east where the Atlantic heaves,
Our own island shores make the beauty complete;
As much in our praise as that great land they beat,
We are nearer to Heaven by sea.
We are nearer to heaven by sea,
As close to perfection as an island can be;
This world has its wonders, but it seems to me,
We are nearer to Heaven by sea.
