Poem by Charles Dibdin

The Lass That Loves a Sailor

The moon on the ocean
Was dimmed by a ripple
Affording a chequered delight;
The gay jolly tars
Passed a word for the tipple,
And the toast -
For 'twas Saturday night:
Some sweetheart or wife
He loved as his life
Each drank, and wished
He could hail her:
But the standing toast
That pleased the most,
Was 'The wind that blows,
The Ship that goes,
And the lass that loves a sailor!'

Some drank 'The Queen,'
And some her brave ships,
And some 'The Constitution';
Some 'May our foes,
And all such rips,
Yield to English resolution!'
That fate might bless
Some Poll or Bess,
And that they soon
Might hail her:
But the standing toast
That pleased the most,
Was 'The wind that blows,
The Ship that goes,
And the lass that loves a sailor!'

Some drank 'The Prince,'
And some 'Our Land,'
This glorious land of freedom!
Some that our tars
May never stand
For heroes brave to lead them!
That she who's in distress may find,
Such friends as ne'er will fail her.
But the standing toast
That pleased the most,
Was 'The wind that blows,
The Ship that goes,
And the lass that loves a sailor!'

1. Negro Slave
2. Then Farewell My Tridonotuse-Built Wherry
3. Ben Backstay
4. Tom Tough
5. The Sailor's Journal

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