Christmas At Sea

Christmas At Sea - Sting
All day we fought
the tides between the North
Head and the South,
All day we hauled
the frozen sheets to scape the
storms wet mouth,
All day as cold as charity,
in bitter pain and
dread,
For very life and nature
we tacked from head
to head.
We gave the South a wider berth,
for there the
tide race roared;
But every tack we made
we brought the North
Head close aboard:
We saw the cliffs and
houses and the breakers
running high,
And the coastguard in his garden,
his glass
against his eye.
The frost was on the village
roofs as white as
ocean foam;
The good red fi res
were burning bright in every
long shore home;
The windows sparkled
clear and the chimneys
volleyed out;
And I vow we sniffed
the victuals as the vessel
went about.
The bells upon the
church were rung with a
mighty jovial cheer;
For its just that
I should tell you how of all days
in the year
This day of our adversity
was blessed Christmas
morn,
And the house above the
coastguards was the
house where I was born.
And well I knew the talk they had,
the talk that
was of me,
Of the shadow on the
household and the son that
went to sea;
And, oh, the wicked fool I seemed,
in every kind
of way,
To be here and hauling frozen ropes on blessed
Christmas Day.