I awoke in the dusts of an autumn morning Faces oil-lit and kneeling round the family chairs I never knew that a heart could take such filling Spaces everywhere
All the front doors opened and the men came walking Suits and shoes, heads of silver and grey It's one short road from a darkened cradle To the endless light of day She walked like a bride down the aisle of her childhood The shops, the schoolyard, the church on the hill Where she trembled on the day she was touched and broken Marie was born again
All ears to the trawler-band in the evenings Forty crans and the spirits run wild The storms. the drownings. the tables, the drinking The sea had claimed their lives There's peat smoke rising from the village chimneys You take your chances with the red haired girl All the boats take their rest in the heart of the harbour That night in a changing world
And the ship's come round And she's waiting at the harbour Be prepared to get on board Be prepared I never knew that- the light of ages Breaks the way before Lis Sail away, sail away