A PASSING SHIP
(Gordon Lightfoot)

As recorded Gordon Lightfoot 1986


A passing ship, I have found the open ocean
Give me no lip, the waves roll by as I press on
A sunlit sea, on the first day in April
How fresh the wind, will you miss me when I'm gone.

How many words, how many songs still unwritten
How many ships of the line have come and gone
In the good old days, may they never be forgotten
They had heavy wind or they had no wind at all.

(bridge)

A passing ship, it is midnight on the ocean
Had a real long trip, I have been at sea all winter
When my ship came in, I was givin' up the ghost
I think I should be, leavin' those passing ships alone.

When the sea runs high, the sea runs wild and I'm unsteady
And I think of you, in the warmth of your home and family
When love is true, there is no truer occupation
And may this gale, blow us to the ones we love.

(bridge)

Another day, another ocean
Give me no lip, but stand aside as I press on
A sunlit sea, on the last day in October
How fresh the wind, will you miss me from now on.

I guess I should be leaving passing ships alone.



(Transcribed by David Story - March 2013)