Migration
Load up the ship boys
load her to the top
she’ll roll away the miles boys
across the wide blue sea
Jeannie Johnston leaves Quebec
lumbered to the gills
her sails are set a-flapping
her deck it is a-creaking
Mind you watch the sails boys
keep them trim and tied
she’ll roll away the miles boys
across the wide blue sea
Winds will switch and stop
winds will swell and blow
the sea will roil and boil
despite the burning cold
Keep your fingers safe boys
blue-ice though they be
she’ll see you to safe dock boys
across the wide blue sea
In an Irish river town
her load will swing ashore
long straight logs to barges
bound for mills upstream
Empty up the ship boys
empty all you can
for we’ve another load boys
to cross the wide blue sea
This time the load is Irishers
carrying all they own
nothing left to keep them here
famine has stripped it all
Load up the ship boys
with Irish refugees
keep the ship a-steady boys
across the wide blue sea
A new life can begin now
the dreams of sunshine lives
where Irish worth grows well
beyond back-load for a boat
The Irish are the ballast boys
on every voyage out
they earn their keep twice over boys
they keep the ship afloat
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