• Bound for the Promised Land •
The Lyrics

On a sunny day in April we set out for the coast,
Heading for a new life to the land that promised most,
Oh Daddy, when will we be there?

There were eight in our family looking forward to the trip,
To sail across the ocean in a newly finished ship,
Oh Daddy, when will we be there?

A new found life in a new found land,
A fresh new start is what we’d planned,
We’re bound for the promised land.

There were nine in Llanelli there were two in Liverpool,
Anarchists in London what is it coming to?
Oh Daddy, when will we be there?

England seemed in turmoil we felt we could not stay,
Riots, strikes and unrest we had to get away,
Oh Daddy, when will we be there?

Taken from the "New York" for lack of coal
Transferred to the ship that had it all,
We’re bound for the promised land.

We were third class steerage in the belly of the ship,
With a neat little cabin for to stay in on our trip,
Oh Daddy, when will we be there?

Sailing from Southampton, the weather it was fine,
Had a near miss with the "New York",
it seemed funny at the time,
Oh Daddy, when will we be there?

When the sun set down that fateful night,
We felt we almost caught a sight,
A sight of the promised land.

Some time before midnight a shudder through the hull
Seemed to set a warning ringing, ringing in my skull
Oh Daddy, when will we be there?

Some say we hit an iceberg, we were never really sure,
They said, "Put on your life-belts", there was never any more.
Oh Daddy, when will we be there?

No one seemed prepared to stop and think,
There might be a chance this ship could sink,
They were bound for the promised land.

There were shouts there were screams there was water in the hold, There were locks on the gates you could feel the rising cold,
Oh Daddy, when will we be there?

There was fear there was panic there was bravery there was pain,
You could see it in the faces they’d not see dry land again,
Oh Daddy, when will we be there?

The water’s rising hear my plea,
Save my children and take me,
They’re bound for the promised land.

With no-one left to turn to, we were praying down below,
We boarded as a family, as a family we would go,
Oh Daddy, when will we be there?

©Sackful of Sovereigns March 1998.

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