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Well, you sailed the cold waters of the great northern bays,
Ice thick on your rigging, lee rail under the waves,
And the snow on your canvas, like a winter gull's wing.
Oh, all the times you've been through.
And now you've got hard times,
And now you lie still,
And you're fast to the anchor and chain.
Broken and tired,
Summer winds pass you by,
But you're bound to go sailing again.
Well, you cleared out of Boothbay on a gentle south swell;
With the breeze on your quarter, how that bow rose and fell.
There are those who remember so much more than they'll tell;
Oh, all the times you've been through.
And now you've got hard times,
And now you lie still,
And you're fast to the anchor and chain.
Broken and tired,
Summer winds pass you by,
But you're bound to go sailing again.
Greenland and Baffin, and the white Labrador,
In the winds and the terrible snow,
When they carried their icepicks just to bring you about
In the light from the lanterns below.
And now you've got hard times,
And now you lie still,
And you're fast to the anchor and chain.
Broken and tired,
Summer winds pass you by,
But you're bound to go sailing again.
So rest, lady, rest from the fog and the gales.
Let the harbor protect you, let the sun dry your sails,
Let a hundred old sailors tell their saltiest tales
Of the hardest of times you've been through.
And we'll see your masts mingle with the spruces and pines,
And we'll bow as we all pass you by.
For a boat is more patient than a sailor can be
When the sun and the wind fill his eyes.
And now you've got hard times,
And now you lie still,
And you're fast to the anchor and chain.
Broken and tired,
Summer winds pass you by,
But you're bound to go sailing again.
Larry Kaplan Notes:
"I helped restore, then served for some time as crew aboard the Arctic exploration schooner The Bowdoin. This vessel, built in 1921 by Admiral Donald MacMillan, was designed to be graceful at sea, but at the same time able to withstand the ice and the weather of the Arctic. After retiring from twenty-six trips north, and after MacMillan's death, she fell on hard times until dedicated and talented people like Capt. John Nugent and Dr. Edward Morse, along with the Bowdoin Association, finished the restoration and turned her over to the Maine Maritime Academy. Today she serves as a sail training vessel, once again voyaging above the Arctic circle. I wrote this song during those hard times, when only a few people were sure this great vessel would ever sail again."
