If I had a ship, what name would I call her
If I had a ship, what name would it be
Not the shire, not the saints, no none of these
For she would bear the name of my sweet lady
If I had a ship, her sails would be sewn
By the hands of the past, for the wide world to roam
From the forest of kings - oak for her mast
By the light of the stars - her helm would be cast
Fair winds will blow
To our harbour, our quay
And she carries me
To the heart of the sea
If I had a ship I would read how the wind blows
If I had a ship I'd learn what the keel knows
I'd know the sea and she'd come to know me
I'd be a wise man, sailing and free
If I had a ship, we'd find bays of blue
Shorelines of green and gold just for you
I'd bring you, my love, we'd cross borders and time
Pass every horizon in the night's star-shine
Fair winds will blow
To our harbour, our quay
And she carries me
To the heart of the sea
And after you've gone and I've laid you to rest
In the boughs of a willow, I'll do my best
To take our ship up to where the whales go
I'll drop my anchor when the waves to and fro
And I'll sing them our stories, and they'll sing me theirs
To be told in the deep, to be turned into prayers
To be turned into prayers
If I had a ship, the breath that I hold,
Would blow me the way of all that I sold
When I chose to set sail, no sight of the shore
But with a dream, nothing less nothing more