(for Mark Smith, by special request)
I am the man they call Tomson the Marriner
Tomson the sailor, Tomson the sea
And all that I have – all these goods I can pass on
I owe to the water between God and me
There’s a light comes over the bow
And it’s a heart’s ease that we’re going home now
Mist on the morning and echoing bells from the town
And I will be standing here always, watching the gulls
I have sailed to the bay at Bordeaux
And run before the tide on Orcabella’s coast
I have battled the Spaniard with cannon, and fought hand to hand
And I still fear the sound of the leadline across Goodwin Sands
I am old now, with gout and bad eyes
I have buried the stillborn and outlived a wife
I have brewhouses, fishing craft, tenements, linen and plate
But all I have left of my life is my only estate
© MarkGSongs 2011
