Your father sailed on the Murmansk run
To guide the flocks of the ships home one by one
Grey beneath the Arctic sun
Or the glow of Northern Lights
I see you have his photograph
His eyes are watching for dangers fore or aft
Trading days beneath the sun
For the cold and wintry nights of the Murmansk run
He never did come home to you
It's long forgotten, a childhood dream or two
But something of the cold got through
And it lingers in your eyes
On days like these you hear the wind
And feel the chill of the ice floes closing in
Trading days beneath the sun
For the cold and wintry nights of the Murmansk run
Save our souls, river of darkness over me
Save our souls, lost on the dark uncharted sea
Now you hide yourself from view
You seem to find it an easy thing to do
Trading days beneath the sun
For the cold and wintry nights of the Murmansk run
Save our souls, river of darkness over me
Save our souls, lost on the dark uncharted sea
Well you wake up in the morning on Hester street
And run to the factory, You can't afford to be late
Working every morning, every evening, every day
For your money, Yet there's nothing to save
Watching your life pass by the window
Feeling it all run through your hands
Counting the thousands behind in the lines
Waiting time for their chance
From Ellis Island, day after day
From Ellis Island, dreams slip away
Meanwhile from the market come the cries
Of every tongue and every nation
Refugeless refugees
Faces from the endless plains of Russia
Blonde Norwegian, dark Croatian
Songs in sad minor keys
Feeling the heat inside the fumace
Trying to make that break away
Reaching their hands for a grip
On the edge just to slip back again
From Ellis Island, day after day
From Ellis Island, dreams slip away
Ah well I've heard it said
If you just use your head
You can make your fortune here
One lucky break and that's all it would take
But it never seems to be near
Another day, another ship pulls into harbor
And the crowd spills down the gangway
Clutching their suitcases tight
Blinking in the sunlight at the door of the new world
They hold the handrail
With all the post thrown behind
Caught in between now and forever
Wondering just what lies ahead
Each one is waiting and hoping
The door will be open to them
On Ellis Island, day after day
On Ellis Island, time slips away
From Ellis Island, day after day
From Ellis Island, dreams slip away
Save our souls, river of darkness over me
Save our souls, lost on the dark uncharted sea
To guide the flocks of the ships home one by one
Grey beneath the Arctic sun
Or the glow of Northern Lights
I see you have his photograph
His eyes are watching for dangers fore or aft
Trading days beneath the sun
For the cold and wintry nights of the Murmansk run
He never did come home to you
It's long forgotten, a childhood dream or two
But something of the cold got through
And it lingers in your eyes
On days like these you hear the wind
And feel the chill of the ice floes closing in
Trading days beneath the sun
For the cold and wintry nights of the Murmansk run
Save our souls, river of darkness over me
Save our souls, lost on the dark uncharted sea
Now you hide yourself from view
You seem to find it an easy thing to do
Trading days beneath the sun
For the cold and wintry nights of the Murmansk run
Save our souls, river of darkness over me
Save our souls, lost on the dark uncharted sea
Well you wake up in the morning on Hester street
And run to the factory, You can't afford to be late
Working every morning, every evening, every day
For your money, Yet there's nothing to save
Watching your life pass by the window
Feeling it all run through your hands
Counting the thousands behind in the lines
Waiting time for their chance
From Ellis Island, day after day
From Ellis Island, dreams slip away
Meanwhile from the market come the cries
Of every tongue and every nation
Refugeless refugees
Faces from the endless plains of Russia
Blonde Norwegian, dark Croatian
Songs in sad minor keys
Feeling the heat inside the fumace
Trying to make that break away
Reaching their hands for a grip
On the edge just to slip back again
From Ellis Island, day after day
From Ellis Island, dreams slip away
Ah well I've heard it said
If you just use your head
You can make your fortune here
One lucky break and that's all it would take
But it never seems to be near
Another day, another ship pulls into harbor
And the crowd spills down the gangway
Clutching their suitcases tight
Blinking in the sunlight at the door of the new world
They hold the handrail
With all the post thrown behind
Caught in between now and forever
Wondering just what lies ahead
Each one is waiting and hoping
The door will be open to them
On Ellis Island, day after day
On Ellis Island, time slips away
From Ellis Island, day after day
From Ellis Island, dreams slip away
Save our souls, river of darkness over me
Save our souls, lost on the dark uncharted sea
inviata da Marcia - 8/4/2009 - 15:21
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Album: "24 Carrots"
History and references behind Al Stewart's songs from www.alstewart.com
Murmansk
Murmansk is located on the Kola Gulf in the Barents Sea in Russia. It is 25 miles north of Leningrad (St. Petersburg),and about 35 miles from the open sea. It is the largest city in the world north of the Arctic Circle, and is the principal base for the Russian deep sea fishing fleet and the home of the Arctic Fisheries and Oceanography Research Institutes.
The port of Murmansk is ice free, and is kept open all winter by warm currents flowing up from the Gulf Stream. It was founded in 19115 as a port ot receive Allied supplies for the Russian armies during WWI. It was held by Allied ilnterventionists from 1918 to 1920 following the Bolshevik Revolution.
In WWII the post resisted a German drive, and was again used as a port for Allied convoys bring supplies to Russian troops.
Ellis Island
Ellis Island is located in Upper New York Bay, about 1 miles from the southwestern tip of Manhatten. It served as the principle immigration reception center in the United States between 1892 and 1943.
The island was named for Samuel Ellis, who owned it in the early 18th century. The U.S. government bought it from New York state, and used it as a fort and arsenal until 1892, when it opened the immigration center.
At the peak, one million immigrants were processed there each year.