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Sailing Music

Sailing Lyrics

There's something curious about sailing and being on the water. It's not always that just any music will do. Sometimes you have to hear that soothing rhythm that reflects a soul borne on the water. Here are a few samplings. Please send us your favorite tunes to add to the list.

Sailing

by Christopher Cross / 'N Sync

Well, it's not far down to paradise,
at least it's not for me
And if the wind is right you can sail away
and find tranquility
Oh, the canvas can do miracles, just you wait and see.
Believe me.

It's not far to never-never land,
no reason to pretend
And if the wind is right you can find
the joy of innocence again
Oh, the canvas can do miracles, just you wait and see.
Believe me.

CHORUS:
Sailing takes me away
to where I've always heard it could be
Just a dream and the wind to carry me
And soon I will be free

Fantasy, it gets the best of me
When I'm sailing
All caught up in the reverie,
every word is a symphony
Won't you believe me?

CHORUS
Well it's not far back to sanity,
at least it's not for me
And if the wind is right you can sail away
and find serenity
Oh, the canvas can do miracles, just you wait and see.
Believe me.

CHORUS

One of the quintessential sailing songs of all time.

 

The Downeaster Alexa

by Billy Joel

Well I'm on the Downeaster Alexa
And I'm cruising through Block Island Sound
I have charted a course to the Vineyard
But tonight I am Nantucket bound

We took on diesel back in Montauk yesterday
And left this morning from the bell in Gardiner's Bay
Like all the locals here I've had to sell my home
Too proud to leave I worked my fingers to the bone

So I could own my Downeaster Alexa
And I go where the ocean is deep
There are giants out there in the canyons
And a good captain can't fall asleep

I've got bills to pay and children who need clothes
I know there's fish out there but where God only knows
They say these waters aren't what they used to be
But I've got people back on land who count on me

So if you see my Downeaster Alexa
And if you work with the rod and the reel
Tell my wife I am trolling Atlantis
And I still have my hands on the wheel

Now I drive my Downeaster Alexa
More and more miles from shore every year
Since they tell me I can't sell no stripers
And there's no luck in swordfishing here

I was a bayman like my father was before
Can't make a living as a bayman anymore
There ain't much future for a man who works the sea
But there ain't no island left for islanders like me

Joel owns a boat called "The Alexa," which he designed and built on Long Island. It is a Shelter Island runabout. It was named after his daughter, Alexa Ray. Boating is one of Joel's favorite hobbies. He often makes nautical references in his songs, and his personal management company is called Maritime Music. He lives in Oyster Bay and has just launched a radical new boat design - see Soundings magazine September 2005 cover story.

Come on down to my boat

by Every Mothers' Son (1967)

She sits on the dock a fishin' in the water uh, huh
I don't know her name she's the fisherman's daughter uh, huh
Come on down to my boat baby
Come on down where we can play
Come on down to my boat baby
Come on down we'll sail away.
She smiled so nice like she wants to come with me uh, huh
But she's tied to the dock and she can't get free
Come on down to my boat baby .......
Fish all day sleep all night
Father never lets her out of his sight
Soon I'm gonna have to get my knife and cut that rope, cut that rope
Then we can go fishin' in my little red boat
Make you happy in my little red boat
so come on down to my boat baby ....

Editor's note: Isn't it amazing how uncomplicated lyrics were in the '60s?

Sailing

by Rod Stewart  

I am sailing, I am sailing,
home again 'cross the sea.
I am sailing, stormy waters,
to be near you, to be free.

I am flying, I am flying,
like a bird 'cross the sky.
I am flying, passing high clouds,
to be with you, to be free.

Can you hear me, can you hear me
thro' the dark night, far away,
I am dying, forever trying,
to be with you, who can say.

Can you hear me, can you hear me,
thro' the dark night far away.
I am dying, forever trying,
to be with you, who can say.

We are sailing, we are sailing,
home again 'cross the sea.
We are sailing stormy waters,
to be near you, to be free.

Oh Lord, to be near you, to be free.
Oh Lord, to be near you, to be free,
Oh Lord.

Sailing to America

By Saxon

Excitement in the air
There's a journey to prepare
They check the food and water's all on board
They're waiting for the tide
The sails are open wide
They're sailing to a better place to dwell
They're sailing to America
Fly the banners high
They're sailing to America
Set the rigging high
The quayside's full of friends
A farewell in their hands
No-one knows if they'll reach the shore
As Plymouth slips away
They'll not be back again
They're sailing off towards the promised land
They're sailing to America
Fly the banners high
They're sailing to America
Set the rigging high
They're sailing to America
Fly the banners high
The Mayflower's on her way
Set sail for many days
The lookout searching for the distant shore
Anchored in the surf
Their journey's at an end
The pilgrims set their feet on virgin land
They're sailing to America
Fly the banners high
They're sailing to America
Set the rigging high

Sailing To Philadelphia

By Mark Knopfler

I am jeremiah dixon
I am a geordie boy
A glass of wine with you, sir
And the ladies I’ll enjoy
All durham and northumberland
Is measured up by my own hand
It was my fate from birth
To make my mark upon the earth...

He calls me charlie mason
A stargazer am i
It seems that I was born
To chart the evening sky
They’d cut me out for baking bread
But I had other dreams instead
This baker’s boy from the west country
Would join the royal society...

We are sailing to philadelphia
A world away from the coaly tyne
Sailing to philadelphia
To draw the line
A mason-dixon line

Now you’re a good surveyor, dixon
But I swear you’ll make me mad
The west will kill us both
You gullible geordie lad
You talk of liberty
How can america be free
A geordie and a baker’s boy
In the forests of the iroquois...

Now hold your head up, mason
See america lies there
The morning tide has raised
The capes of delaware
Come up and feel the sun
A new morning has begun
Another day will make it clear
Why your stars should guide us here...

We are sailing to philadelphia
A world away from the coaly tyne
Sailing to philadelphia
To draw the line
A mason-dixon line

Sailing Down This Golden River
by Pete Seeger


Sailng down my golden river
Sun and water all my own
Yet I was never alone

Sun and water, old life givers
l'll have them where ere I roam
And I was not far from home

Sunlight glancing on the water
Life and death are all my own
Yet I was never alone

Life for all my sons and daughters
Golden sparkles in the foam
And I was not far from home

Sailing down this winding highway
Travelers from near and far
And I was never alone

Exploring all the little byways
Sighting all the distant stars
And I was not far from home

Sailing down my golden river
Sun and water all my own
Yet I was never alone

Sun and water, old life givers
l'll have them where ere I roam
And I was not far from home

Yet I was never alone
And I was not far from home

SAILING AWAY
by Chris
Deburgh


Waiting at the water's edge
Watching all the ships as they are heading for the harbour wall
I was just a boy, I was just a boy
Dreaming of the wide world, dreaming of the wide world
Watching as they disappear
Reading out the names of all the places I have never been
Looking out to sea, staring out to sea,
Dreaming of a wide world, dreaming of the wide world
I wish I was sailing away, sailing away,
Sailing away, with you tonight, with you tonight
Walking down another street
Underneath the red lights, I am watching where the shadows fall
Looking at the girls, listening to the girls
Dreaming of a new world, dreaming of that new world
I wish I was sailing away, sailing away,
Sailing away, in your arms tonight,
In your arms tonight
I wish I was sailing away, sailing away,
Sailing away, with you now, with you now...

Drunken Boat

by Kendra Smith

Down to the sea in a drunken boat
No one can get to her tearing up the words she wrote
Down impassable rivers
What does she care for a crew
Light as a cork she is dancing
On the waves of the deep sunk dead
Moonlit lantern idiot eyes
Delirious rhythms that catch her at dawn
Black perfumes that drag her and drug her
Under the bottomless spiralling sky
Nighttime breathes in ominous fortune
She thinks of the calm before stroming
And hears Ma's silent warning
Down to the sea in a drunken boat
No one can get to her tearing up the words she wrote
On a drunken boat she is sailing
Down to the sea she's singing
Nothing is quite as it seems
And no man on earth can be hid from her dreaming

Sloop John B.

By Jerry Jeff Walker

We come on the sloop John B
My grandfather and me
Around Nassau town we did roam
Drinking all night
Got into a fight
Well I feel so broke up
I want to go home

So hoist up the John B's sail
See how the mainsail sets
Call for the Captain ashore
Let me go home, let me go home
I wanna go home, yeah yeah
Well I feel so broke up
I wanna go home

The first mate he got drunk
And broke in the Cap'n's trunk
The constable had to come and take him away
Sheriff John Stone
Why don't you leave me alone, yeah yeah
Well I feel so broke up I wanna go home

So hoist up the John B's sail
See how the mainsail sets
Call for the Captain ashore
Let me go home, let me go home
I wanna go home, let me go home
Why don't you let me go home

Hoist up the John B
I feel so broke up I wanna go home
Let me go home

The poor cook he caught the fits
And threw away all my grits
And then he took and he ate up all of my corn
Let me go home
Why don't they let me go home
This is the worst trip I've ever been on

So hoist up the John B's sail
See how the mainsail sets
Call for the Captain ashore
Let me go home, let me go home
I wanna go home, let me go home
Why don't you let me go home

A SAILBOAT IN THE MOONLIGHT

By Carmen Lombardo / John Jacob Loeb
Sung by Billie Holiday


A sailboat in the moonlight
And you
Wouldn't that be heaven
A heaven just for two
A soft breeze on a June night and you
What a perfect setting
For letting dreams come true

A chance to sail away
To Sweetheart Bay
Beneath the stars that shine
A chance to drift
For you to lift
Your tender lips to mine
Some things dear
That I long for are few
Just give me a sailboat in the moonlight and you

A chance to sail away
To Sweetheart Bay
Beneath the stars that shine
A chance to drift
For you to lift
Your tender lips to mine
Some things dear
That I long for are few
Just give me a sailboat in the moonlight and you

Come Sail Away
By STYX

I'm sailing away
Set an open course for the virgin sea
For I've got to be free
Free to face the life that's ahead of me

On board I'm the captain
So climb aboard
We'll search for tomorrow
On every shore
And I'll try, Oh lord, I'll try
To carry on

I look to the sea
Reflections in the waves spark my memories
Some happy, some sad
I think of childhood friends and the dreams we had

We lived happily forever
So the story goes
But somehow we missed out
On the pot of gold
But we'll try, best that we can
To carry on

A gathering of angels appeared above our heads
They sang to me this song of hope
And this is what they said, they said

Come sail away
Come sail away
Come sail away with me . . . . . . (REPEAT 3 MORE TIMES)

I thought that they were angels
But to my surprise
We climbed aboard their starship
And headed for the skies
Singing . . .

Come sail away
Come sail away
Come sail away with me . . . . . (REPEAT 3 MORE TIMES)

--------------------------------------
Lyrics and Music by Dennis DeYoung. Copyright 1977.

Sailing

N Sync

Well it's not far down to paradise
At least not for me
And if the wind is right you can sail away
And find tranquility
Oh, the canvas can do miracles
Just you wait and see
Baby believe me
It's not far to Never-Never Land

No reason to pretend
And if the wind is right you can find the joy
Of innocence again
Oh, the canvas can do miracles
Just you wait and see
Baby believe me

Sailing takes me away
To where I've always heard it could be
Just a dream and a wind to carry me
Soon I will be free

Fantasy
It gets the best of me
When I'm sailing
All the world in a reverie
Every word is a symphony
Won't you believe me?

Sailing (takes me away) takes me away
To where I've always heard it could be (where I wanna be)
Just a dream and a wind to carry me
Soon I will be free
Soon I will be free

Ahhh....It's not far back to sanity
At least it's not for me
And if he wind is right you can sail away
And find serenity
The canvas can do miracles
Just you wait and see
Baby, believe me

Sailing takes me away
To where I've always heard it could be
Just a dream and a wind to carry me
Soon I will be free
Soon I will be free (FREE!)

Sailing takes me away
To where I've always heard it could be (I've always heard it could be)
Just a dream and a wind to carry me
Soon I will be free
Soon I will be free yeah.
Here are some 'original' sailing tunes of ours just waiting for the right preformer!
  • Under the floorboards (To "Under the Boardwalk")
  • She was the sanding queen (To Abba's "Dancing Queen")
  • Winching, winching, winching: Rawhands (To "Theme from Rawhide")
  • High ho, high ho, it's up the mast we go (To the Disney Snow White classic)
  • More to follow.

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