Song and chorus from 1865 Words and music by Henry Clay Work
Sheet Music
Accompaniment
Lyrics
CHORUS [sung after each verse]
Did she never return? She never return’d —
Her fate it is yet unlearn’d;
Tho’ for years and years there were fond ones watching,
Yet the ship — she never return’d.
2. Said a feeble lad to his anxious mother,
“I must cross the wide, wide sea;
For they say, perchance in a foreign climate
There is health and strength for me.”
‘Twas a gleam of hope in a maze of danger,
And her heart for her youngest yearn’d;
Yet she sent him forth with a smile and blessing
On the ship that never return’d.
3. “Only one more trip,” said a gallant seaman,
As he kiss’d his weeping wife;
Only one more bag of the golden treasure,
And ’twill last us all through life.
Then I’ll spend my days in my cozy cottage,
And enjoy the rest I’ve earn’d;
But alas, poor man! for he sailed commander
Of the ship that never return’d.
Sung by Vancha March: