SAILOR BOYS
(Charles Aznavour / Herbert Kretzmer)

Liza Minnelli - 1991


My early years were years of joy
My parents taught me that in pride
But then I met a handsome boy
Who took my childhood in his stride

A golden youth of careless whim
Who once upon a summer's day
Persuaded me to lay with him
And stole my innocence away

Sailor boys, I wait beside the harbour gate
I'm here in sunshine and snow
For lonely boys and eager boys
For boys with nowhere to go

I raise my arms to greet you home
To give you shelter
From the wild winds of the sea
Sailor boys, come and sail with me

In attic bedrooms high above
The world of ordinary men
The golden boy and I made love
For love was all that mattered then

There in the hollows of his bed
He took my passion and my pride
And swore by heaven overhead
That he would love me till he died

Sailor boys, I wait beside the harbour gate
I'm here in sunshine and snow
For lonely boys and eager boys
For boys with nowhere to go

I raise my arms to greet you home
To give you shelter
From the wild winds of the sea
Sailor boys, come and sail with me

He disappeared without a trace
Perhaps he ran away to sea
I should have known he couldn't face
The child that grew inside of me

And now I soothe with lullabies
The golden girl he'll never know
She has his bold and restless eyes
But only mine will see her grow

Sailor boys, I wait beside the harbour gate
I'm here in sunshine and snow
For lonely boys and eager boys
For boys with nowhere to go

I raise my arms to greet you home
To give you shelter
From the wild winds of the sea
Sailor boys, come and sail with me

Sailor boys, I wait beside the harbour gate
I'm here in sunshine and snow
For lonely boys and eager boys
For boys with nowhere to go

I raise my arms to greet you home
To give you shelter
From the wild winds of the sea
Sailor boys, come and sail with me


(Transcribed by Monique Adriaansen & Mel Priddle - October 2005)