Written while sailing from Vancouver to Seattle.
I’ve seen the forest and mountains,
I’ve seen the far stretching plain,
But oh for a whiff of the briny sea,
And a journey across the main!
Oh, then does my soul find its pleasure,
Akin to my childhood joy,
For my home was close to the seashore,
And I lived with the fjord as a boy.
Its unbounded freedom and greatness
Created a love in my soul,
And never I sail o’er the surging sea,
But liberty’s voice does me call.
Its mystery, aye, and its music
Have followed me all the way,
And borne--as they are--by the foaming wave,
They blend in an unsung lay.
And all day long do I listen,
And all day long do I look
To freedom which never was nation’s,
To songs that were never in book.