The Ship That Never Returned

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The Ship That Never Returned

Henry Clay, 1865

On a summer's day,

When the wave was rippled

By the softest gentlest breeze,

Did a ship set sail

With a cargo laden

For a port beyond the seas.

There were sweet farewells

There were loving signals

While a form was yet discerned;

Though they knew it not,

'twas a solemn parting

For the ship, she never returned.

Chorus:

Did she never return?

She never returned,

Her fate, it is yet unlearned,

Though for years and years

There were fond ones watching,

Yet the ship she never returned.

Said a feeble lad

To his anxious mother,"

I must cross the wide, wide sea,

For they say, perchance

In a foreign climate,

There is health and strength for me."

'Twas a gleam of hope

In a maze of danger

And her heart for her youngest yearned,

Yet she sent him forth

With a smile and blessing

On the ship that never returned

Chorus:

"Only one more trip",

Said a gallant seaman,

As he kissed his weeping wife,

Only one more purse

Of that golden treasure

And 'twill last us all through life.

Then I'll spend my days

In my cozy cottage

And enjoy the rest I've earned;

But alas! poor man!

For he sail'd commander

Of the ship that never returned.

Chorus: