Pull, boys, together

From Sheet Music (personal copy) Francis, Day and Hunter

A sailor am I, and proud of it too, 
Any rank I possess has been won… 
By this arm, and thought if I proved tried-and-true, 
Dad and mother would both say "Well done!" 
When we hear the storm break over the piteous foam, 
See the fierce lightning above… 
We think of that harbour, the harbour at home 
The haven of refuge and love…

Pull, boys, together and sailors let us be, 
Pull, boys, together, for the land of liberty; 
Let the thunder roar and rouse the angry main, 
Let's pull and sing a jolly song, we'll soon be home again.

I've paced the lone deck in the dreary night watch,
With a picture clasped tight in my hand ;
'Twas a group of dear ones by the old fireside,
Far away in the dear Motherland.
A tear may have fallen, a prayer may have passed
My lips at that hour, well it might,
For his home 's very dear to a sailor's warm heart,
Keeping watch in the pauses of night.

I've stood on my ship in the trough of the sea,
Heard the snapping of rigging and rope,
Yet the wrath of the storm had no terrors for me,
I still clung to the bright star of hope.
I thought of my dad, with his dear wrinkled face,
My mother's lips tender and warm,
And I've fought for their sake with the demon despair,
And found courage to weather the storm.