LORD FRANKLIN

I was homeward bound one night on the deep, 
Swinging in my hammock I fell asleep, 
I dreamed a dream and I thought it true 
Concerning Franklin and his gallant crew. 

With a hundred men on board he sailed away 
To the frozen ocean in the month of May, 
To seek the passage around the Pole, 
Where we poor sailors do sometimes roll.

The ice king came with his eyes aflame
And his chilly breath was cold as shame
Wrapped around the noble crew
It pierced and froze their warm hearts through

Through cruel hardships they vainly strove, 
Their ship on mountains of ice was drove, 
And offering prayers for their dear wives
Many brave souls had lost their lives

In Baffin Bay where the whalefish blow, 
The fate of Franklin no man may know,
The tale of Franklin no tongue can tell, 
What icy death to him and his men fell

I dreamed we neared the English shore, 
I heard a lady weep and deplore, 
She wept aloud and she seemed to say: 
Alas, that my husband is so long away. 

Now her sad burden gives her such pain, 
For her long-lost Franklin she's searched in vain. 
Ten thousand pounds she would freely give 
To know on earth that her Franklin lived.