It was a stormy winter's night, the snow lay on the ground;
A sailor boy stood on the quay, his ship was outward bound.
His sweet-heart standing by his side shed many a bitter tear;
And as he pressed her to his breast, he whispered in her ear.
Farewell, farewell, my own true love,
This parting gives me pain;
You'll be my own true guiding star,
Till I return again.
My thoughts will ever be of you,
When storms are raging high;
Farewell, farewell, remember me,
Your faithful sailor boy!
'Twas in a gale, the ship set sail, his sweetheart standing by.
She watched the ship far out of sight, till tears had dimmed her eye;
She prayed to God in heaven above, to guide him on his way,
And then those parting words she heard, an echoing over the bay.
Sad to say the ship returned without the sailor boy;
He died while on the voyage home; the flag was half-mast high.
And when his shipmates came ashore, they told her he was dead;
And in a letter that he wrote, these last lines sadly said: