ISAAC LEWIS
(Tom Russell)
My name is Isaac Lewis, I’m an able-bodied man
On the ship the Royal Charter bound off for Van Dieman’s land
Oh the sea that took six months to cross we could do in two
So it’s up that Mersey River out of Liverpool we flew
And some of us were sailors, all hardies young and old
And some of us were pioneers bound off for the gold
There were merchants and musicians, Christian soldiers of the cross
We stared into that foamy sea, saw our dreams there in the broth
Sail on, sail on and on and on
My name is Isaac Lewis, and this shall be my song.
So we landed there in Botany Bay and the boys went on the town
And I met a girl named Emma Gray and I loved her up and down
And I swore that I'd return for her, one more tour of sea
But I had to tell to tell my father what he meant to me
For every night I dreamed a dream as the wind swept thru the sails
That I was in my father's house, back in northern Wales
And I reached out for my father, I said "I love you very much"
But the ship rolled o'er and the dream was drowned
Before we got to touch
Sail on, sail on and on and on
My name is Isaac Lewis, and this will be my song
So I kissed the lips of Emma Gray and set sail for Liverpool
And the parrots perched in the riggings, boys, and the dolphins swam in schools
Our trip it was a pleasant one till we reached the coast of Wales
And one day out from Liverpool, God unleashed a gale.
Good lord, I’ve seen some squalls, me boys, and hurricanes at sea
And many nights I’d rediscovered faith on bended knee
But I’d never seen it blow so hard, we anchored her at last
But the waves rolled o’er the top of us, we had to cut the masts
And all the mining magnates clutched their gold believing they’d be saved
But their bloody greed destroyed them first beneath the angry waves
All the women and the children lost to eternity
Ah, man has tames and shaped the land, he’ll never tame the sea.
For every night I had dreamed a dream as the wind swept through the sails
That I was in my father's house, back in northern Wales
And I reached out for my father, I said "I love you very much"
But the ship rolled o'er and the dream was drowned
Before we got to touch. Sail on…[hum]
We were caught upon the rocks just 10 yards from the shore
And we saw men standing on those rocks, maybe three or more
And I swear I saw my father, waving at me through the squall
And I screamed that I was I coming home but that’s all that I recall
For the waves they swept me overboard with the broken masts and sails
And I drowned where as a child I’d fished on the rocks of northern Wales
And in three days’ time I washed upon the whitened sandy shore
100 yards from Moelfre, my father’s wide oak door
Sail on, and on and on and on.
My name is Isaac Lewis and this shall be my song.
And some will shout coincidence or say this can’t be true
I only say just tell your loved ones what they mean to you
For you shall sail the seas of life, pursuing golden schemes
Yet drown so closely to your home, the cradle of your dreams
Sail on, sail on and on and on.
My name is Isaac Lewis and this has been my song.
My name is Isaac Lewis and this has been my song.
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Lyrics submitted by Bob Kozma.