There's a ship of the line
Waiting in the harbor
She put her anchor down just off shore
With captain so bold
And all her men about her
You've never seen a sight like her before
My sweet darling boy
Wishes for to board her
And journey in her care to distant shores
But I would lament
If he took the order
For he's the only one I do adore
(Refrain)
And the wind blows the colors
And the tide rolls away
And soft calls the ocean
There's a ship of the line in the bay
Dear mother I pray
Though you try to warn me
It's soon that I was bound to go my way
With fortunes abroad
It's soon that I'll adorn thee
With the finest things that money can repay
Dear son if you go
Who will sow the harvest
And till the precious land that you call home
And if you were gone
There'd be no one to guard this
While on the wicked sea you're gone to roam
Refrain
Oh, you'll not be alone
When I take my leaving
And worry not for care while I'm away
For the boys of the glen
Will tend to all the reaping
They've sworn to sow the fields my going day
Oh, the call's in the air
And filling me with longing
For soon the captain orders anchor weighed
And I will depart
As the day is dawning
There's no one else that I must still persuade
Refrain (2 times)