It was a dark and stormy nigh,
And the snow laid on the ground.
A young sailor boy stood on the quay,
And his ship was outward bound.
"Farewell, farewell," says he to her,
"I soon must leave you now,
But when I do return again,
I'll think of you at sea."

"Farewell, farewell, my own true love!
Always keep true to me,
And when the ship is out at sea,
I'll always think of you,"
But he never did return again,
For his ship it foundered low,
And that's the way a sailor's life
To his sweetheart often goes.

From Songs of the Sailor and Lumberman by William Main Doerflinger (1951, '72, '91)