The Shores of the Night

© 1981-1984 Stephen Savitzky. CC-by-nc-sa.

Lyrics [pdf] [txt] [cho]

C G7 C G6 C
  One night on my home world,  adr ift on a warm  little sea,
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sailed  in  a small boat, the  wind in her sails  blow ing  free.
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  With a pale star above me to  guide  me  past  island and  shoal,
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never intend ed  to  sail with a star  for my goal. 
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  Now my bright  sails  of sil ver have caught  the  sun's  light,
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  And I sail  the  wide oc ean past  the shores  of the night. 
I once met a sailor, her eyes they were distant and gay.
She spoke like a girl, though I saw that her hair had turned grey.
She spoke of her home, far away in both distance and time,
And she spoke of the stars that had stolen the years of her prime.
She told me my home-world was an island in flight,
And the blue skies above me, the shores of the night.
Now alone on my ship, in the starlight the long watch I keep,
Endless the sea without harbor, the night without sleep.
My youth with my loves and my sorrows falls light-years behind;
Silver sails in the wind from the stars fill my vision and mind.
And somewhere past the darkness, I long for the sight
Of blue skies above me, the shores of the night.

Loosely inspired by ``The Lady Who Sailed The Soul'' by Cordwainer Smith.