“The Ship-Builders” Sheet Music (pdf).
“The Ship-Builders” Karaoke (midi with lyrics).
Lyrics: John Greenleaf Whittier.
Tune: Gustav Holst.
Hark! roars the bellows, blast on blast,
The sooty smithy jars,
And fire-sparks, rising far and fast,
Are fading with the stars.
All day for us the smith shall stand
Beside that flashing forge;
All day for us his heavy hand
The groaning anvil scourge.
From far-off hills, the panting team
For us is toiling near;
For us the raftsmen down the stream
Their island barges steer.
Rings out for us the axe-man’s strokes
In forests old and still,
For us the century-circled oak
Falls crashing down his hill.
Where’er the keel of our good ship
The sea’s rough field shall plough,
Where’er her tossing spars shall drip
With salt-spray caught below,
That ship must heed her master’s beck,
Her helm obey his hand,
And seamen tread her reeling deck
As if they trod the land.
Be hers the Prairie’s golden grain,
The Desert’s golden sand,
The clustered fruits of sunny Spain,
The spice of Morning-land!
Her pathway on the open main
May blessings follow free,
And glad hearts welcome back again
Her white sails from the sea!