Waiting for morning on the ferry boat deck 5 miles out of Calais  Tired and cold and wet to the skin watching the waves and the spray  Ten years have gone by like the roll of the tide since I signed for the  merchant marine  Now all I want is dry land and a home in a country that I've rarely seen  Home, hurry home  To valleys green  And cliffs so tall and so white  Home, hurry home  I can see the lights of Dover through the night  Teachers of England instructed me well, strength comes from iron and fire  Freedom was won from the barrel of a gun, law comes from palace and spire  I carried the wealth of this land 'cross the sea till the ships and the cargoes  grew slack  Now many Jack Tar is washed up in a bar and many ships will never come back  The ship's bar is closed, there's a gang of fifteen talking of flags and of  blood  Drunken with fighting the face of John Bull stands for violence, England and God  Did I dream of a homeland so distantly remembered  Of warmth, work, welfare, peace for all?