Isaac Lewis

G

[Verse 1]
                               C           G
My name is Isaac Lewis, I'm an able-bodied man
                                         Am               D
On the ship the Royal Charter, bound off for Van Diemen's Land
                          G                               C
Oh, the sea that took six months to cross, we could do in two
        Bm                           Am           D
So it's up that Mersey River, out of Liverpool we flew


[Verse 2]
    G                            C
And some of us were sailors, all hardy, young and old
    Bm                        C                 D
And some of us were pioneers, bound off for the gold
                           G                                  C
There were merchants and musicians, Christian soldiers of the cross
   Bm                                  Am                  D
We stared into that foamy sea, saw our dreams there in the broth


[Chorus]
     G        C      D      G
Sail on, sail on and on and on
   C             Bm     Am               G
My name is Isaac Lewis, this shall be my song


[Verse 3]
                                          C                G
So we landed there in Botany Bay, and the boys went on the town
                                    Am               D
And I met a girl named Emma Gray, I loved her up and down
                       G                              C
And I swore that I'd return for her, one more tour at sea
      Bm                    Am               D
But I had to tell my father what he meant to me


[Verse 4]
                   G                                              C
For every night, I dreamed a dream, as the wind swept through the sails
     Bm                          C                D
That I was in my father's house, back in northern Wales
                         G                                C
And I reached out for my father, I said, "I love you very much,"
        Bm                                           Am             D
But the ship rolled o'er and the dream was drowned before we got to touch


[Chorus]
     G        C      D      G
Sail on, sail on and on and on
   C             Bm     Am               G
My name is Isaac Lewis, this shall be my song


[Verse 5]
                                          C             G
So I kissed the lips of Emma Gray and set sail for Liverpool
                                                      Am               D
And the parrots perched in the riggings, boys and the dolphins swam in schools
                   G                                          C
Our trip, it was a pleasant one, till we reached the coast of Wales
    Bm                          Am              D
And one day out from Liverpool, god unleashed a gale


[Verse 6]
     G                                         C             G
Good lord, I've seen some squalls, me boys and hurricanes at sea
                                  Am              D
And many nights I'd rediscovered, faith on bended knee
                    G                                C
But I never seen it blow so hard, we anchored her at last
        Bm                                  Am             D
But the waves rolled o'er the top of us, we had to cut the mast


[Verse 7]
            G                                      C                 G
And all the mining magnates clutched their gold, believing they'd be saved
                                               Am              D
But their bloody greed destroyed them first, beneath the angry waves
                      G                       C
All the women and the children, lost to eternity
    Bm                                       Am             D
Ah, man has tamed and shaped the land, he'll never tame the sea


[Verse 8]
                      G                                              C
And every night I had dreamed a dream, as the wind swept through the sails
     Bm                          Am               D
That I was in my father's house, back in northern Wales
                     G                                C
And I reached for my father, I said, "I love you very much,"
        Bm                                           Am             D
But the ship rolled o'er and the dream was drowned before we got to touch


[Chorus]
     G    C     D     G
Sail on,  hmmm, hmmm, hmmm
C     Bm    Am    G
hmmm, hmmm, hmmm, hmmm


[Verse 9]
                                    C                  G
We were caught upon the rocks, just ten yards from the shore
                                      Am             D
And we saw men standing on the rocks, maybe three or more
                     G                               C
And I swear I saw my father waving at me through the squall
      Bm                                      Am           D
And I screamed that I was coming home, that's all that I recall


[Verse 10]
        G                                      C               G
For the waves they swept me overboard with the broken mast and sails
      Bm                                           C                 D
And I drowned, where as a child I'd fished, on the rocks of northern Wales
                         G                               C
And in three days time I washed up on the whitened sandy shore
    Bm                                Am                 D
One hundred yards from Moelfre and my father's white oak door


[Chorus]
     G        C      D      G
Sail on, sail on and on and on
   C             Bm     Am               G
My name is Isaac Lewis, this shall be my song


[Verse 11]
                                    C                 G
And some will shout coincidence, or say this can't be true
                                      Am                D
I only say, just tell your loved ones what they mean to you
                       G                             C
For you shall sail the seas of life, pursuing golden schemes
     Bm                                 Am             D
Yet, drown so closely to your home, the cradle of your dreams



[Chorus]
     G        C      D      G
Sail on, sail on and on and on
   C             Bm        Am               G
My name is Isaac Lewis and this has been my song
   C             Bm        Am               G
My name is Isaac Lewis and this has been my song