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Dear Katie, I am bound to the sea,
The clock strikes the hour to tell;
My shipmates lie waiting for me,
Now then, Katie, I must now bid you farewell.
So, it's good-bye, fond one, adieu,
My thoughts on you, darling, remain;
When I'm sleeping in my watch down below,
I'll wander back to Katie in my dreams.
We are out on the troublesome tide,
Rocked by the billows we are tossed;
And our barque o'er the ocean do glide,
While the man at the wheel keeps the watch.
So, it's good-bye, fond one, adieu,
My thoughts on you, darling, remain;
When I'm sleeping in my watch down below,
I'll wander back to Katie in my dreams.
We are marching the deck to and fro,
My thoughts on you, darling, remain;
You are sleeping so snug there on the shore,
While your true love he is out in wind and rain.
So, it's good-bye, fond one, adieu,
My thoughts on you, darling, remain;
When I'm sleeping in my watch down below,
I'll wander back to Katie in my dreams.
Oh, now we have reached our distant port,
Each Jolly sailor gets on shore;
They will fill up a lovely glass,
Drink a health to the girl that they adore.
So, it's good-bye, fond one, adieu,
My thoughts on you, darling, remain;
When I'm sleeping in my watch down below,
I'll wander back to Katie in my dreams.
Sung by Jim Rice [1879-1958] of Cape Broyle, NL, and published in MacEdward Leach And The Songs Of Atlantic Canada © 2004 Memorial University of Newfoundland Folklore and Language Archive (MUNFLA).
