This lovely ballad in waltz-time is a composition of the author and song-writer Anne Infante; Living in Brisbane, Australia, she had been born in Sydney and then raised in Papua New Guinea. She has some eight recordings out and has a lovely voice/presentation.  Cliff handed me her “Seasons” CD back in 2009 or so and asked me to transcribe the lyrics and chords for this song that he might perform it.  He changed part of the 2d verse to give it the perspective of a man rather than the original woman’s view, and he has sung this but rarely.  I, myself, have only recently begun to perform it on my own.

Jos. Morneault

.    D              G                 D                        A                D
1) All of the people are sailing; going away on the sea.

.               G                                       D               A                     D              A
From my window I see the ships leaving ;   pulling away from the quay.

. G                                               D        G                                  A
Strangers and friends on the jetty; under the dockyard lights.

.  D                     A                  D                                           A                             D        A
Some of them smiling and some of them crying and hiding their tears in the night.

  CHORUS:

.               G                                   A                  D                G          A
And the ships go down past my door   And I wish I was sailing away

.                    G                              A                         G               A             D
 From the long, cold Liverpool nights    And the long, cold Liverpool days.

 

2)  I once had a friend in Australia; she said she would wait there for me.

But she wrote in a letter she’d found someone better and that was the way it must be.

And the dark water tugged at the quayside,  reflecting the dockyard lights

As I turned from the ships and I walked back again to the long, cold Liverpool nights

And the ships…

 

3)  I have read about beautiful countries   where the sunshine is bright all the day.

Where brown-skinned people will greet you with smiles and December comes in like the May.

And I know that one day I will go  on a ship that will take me away

From the long, cold Liverpool nights  and the long, cold Liverpool days.

And the ships…

 

4) [repeat first verse and chorus]