No Sun for the Sailors

No Sun for the Sailors by Nathaniel Carroll

Scattered across the restless sea,
the shipyards tell of hardship and of fame.
And for miles down the shore you can hear the ocean roar
As it calls each tired sailor out by name.

Louis had a knack for finding danger,
and some would say that danger had a knack for finding him.
And many years down the line he could hear the ocean pine
as it beckoned him from land to salty rim.
And he cried "Yo ho ho, this life is one to know,"
and quickly dropped his family and fled
to the murky waters just beyond the mountain tops,
and ignored the many voices in his head.

They cried "There is no sun for the sailor.
Just watch the fog against the sky.
It bellows and it batters you - your body cast awry
All waterlogged and wrinkled up, you'll never dry.

And there's no more sun for the sailor.
And there's no more sun for the sailor's wife.
And there's no more fun for the family.
If you never feel the sun you won't feel life."

Louis heard the plight of the sea that night.
He knew he would surely find a better life in spite
of his boredom with the land he once had claimed to be his own.
A future apart from this would be so bright...

and he cried "There is much sun for a sailor,
I can hear the echo in the bay.
It bellows and it beckons you - your body can't deny
composed of mostly water, we are never really dry!

But there is never sun for the sailor.
And there's never warmth on the sailor's brow.
And the only thing a sailor ever absorbs
is the pain of being washed ashore
against the rocky land before
your darkened soul will ever see the light.


A little treat inspired by the cold, sunless Northwest. I'm sure I'll put it to music very soon, attempting to steer clear of any Decemberists comparisons. They're not the only ones inspired by the sea!

xoxo,
nathaniel