Henry's Songbook

Chorus:
Farewell to Nova Scotia your seabound coast
Let your mountains dark and dreary be
For when I am far away on the briny ocean tossed
Will you ever give a thought or a wish for me

The sun was setting in the west
The birds were singing on ev'ry tree
All nature seemed inclinéd to rest
But still there was no rest for me

I grieve to leave my native land
I grieve to leave my comrades all
And my dear aged parents I love so well
And the bonnie, bonnie lassie I do adore

I have two brothers and they are at rest
Their arms are folded on their breast
But a poor lowly sailor just like me
Must be tossed and driven on the deep blue sea

For the drums they do beat and the wars do alarm
The captain calls we must obey
So farewell farewell to Nova Scotia's shores
For it's early in the morning I am far far away

As sung by The McCalmans

See also:
Linda Christine Craig, The Scottish Origins of "Farewell to Nova Scotia", (Dalhousie Review, Vol 58 No. 3 Autumn 1978)