I've wandered the sea now for ten and twenty
And seen all the lands that are far from home
But here at the end, though, I find it empty:
I’ve wandered it alone.
When I was a young lad the world seemed ready,
A journal that’s filled up with unmarked leaves
And I’d be the words that would keep them reading
I’d write it on the sea
The day I took sail I told her
I said that I’d always return,
But there was a whole world that was calling,
So much to live and learn
So I took my leave, for young hearts are listless
And they are impatient, they rush to reach.
Impetuous youth, I’d known not that wisdom
Was something time would teach.
And weeks came to months, came to years,
And when we’d put in she would call.
She’d stand on the docks, gold hair streamin’,
Unbroken, proud and tall.
I know that this ship is sinking,
And I can’t escape, can’t fight Fate.
I wonder if she’s still standing,
If, looking East, she waits.
I’d have that the sun would be on her shoulder;
I’d set her a jewel like the beacon flames;
Tell tales to my sons, and, as one, grow older,
A wild thing she had tamed.
Please, God, while we lay here drifting,
Before my arms fail and I fade,
Please watch him, ensure that he lives on,
And that he will remain.
I know that this ship is broken,
And I can’t hold on, can’t fight Fate.
But hear me, my friend, my son, my legacy:
Run to life, don’t wait.
So if you put in and you hear her calling,
And if she's been wed but still asks of me
Don't tell her my end, say instead I'm trawling
And still wand'ring the sea…
The latest from NY’s David Nagler is a stirring chamber-folk record with rich instrumentation and vivid, evocative lyrics. Bandcamp New & Notable Mar 7, 2022