"We're Afloat or The Midshipman's Farewell" (3 Aug 1844)
Written, Composed & Inscribed to Miss Rose Gunnell
of Washington City
by John Hill Hewitt, 1801-1890

Baltimore, MD: George Willig Jr., 151 Baltimore St.
[Source: 400370@LoC]

1.
We're afloat, and our pennon streams out,
  The signal gun booms o'er the deep
Our light sails are flaunting about
  While the land breeze awakes from its sleep
But ere the last anchor is weigh'd
  And our topsails swell out to the wind
Let the prayer of the sailor be said
  For the loved ones left weeping behind

[REFRAIN sung after each verse]
Farewell to the lnad of the free
Farewell, lovely maidens, to thee!

2.
Now she leans to the brisk evening breeze,
  The billows are lashing her brow;
The land, with its hillocks and trees,
  Looms dim in the broad distance now.
Still fondly I gaze on the shore,
  And give my adieu to the wind;
Let my orisons swell out once more,
  For the lov'd ones left weeping behind!

3.
We're at sea-- and the light-house looks dim,
  The wild wind careers o'er the deep;
The sea-boy has sung his last hymn,
  And laid him down calmly to sleep.
I hear a sweet voice in the air,
  It speaks to me soothing and kind;
It responds to the young sailor's prayer,
  For the lov'd ones left weeping behind!