Lennie Gallant Tales Of The Phantom Ship
(Verse 1)
On a night as black as a raven's feather
Thunder cracks like the snap of leather
And the wind whips through the black spruce on the shore
The waves are pounding on the beaches harder
As the last of the fishermen reach safe harbour
And the wind turns cold, cuts to the core
(Verse 2)
Out on the wild Northumberland Strait
A ball of fire slips o'er the waves
And those who watch they can't believe their eyes
There's a burst of flame and a flash of light
And there on the tide is a frightening sight
As a tall ship, all aflame lights up the sky
(Chorus)
Tales of the Phantom Ship
From truck to keel in flame
She sails the wild Northumberland Strait
No one knows her name
Tales of the Phantom Ship
"It's the ship of fire," they cry
Hard against the wind she sails
No one can say why
(Verse 3)
Some say she's a three-masted square-rigger
Four hundred tons or maybe bigger
With fire on every rope and spar and sail
Out of the east though the wind blows west
She plows the strait on an unknown quest
Cutting through the waves with the strength of a full-force gale
(Verse 4)
Of why she appears, there's none who know
Some say it's nothing but a moonlit glow
But those who've seen her swear they tell no lies
They tell how her bow suddenly drops down
As into the depths of the strait, she's bound
And the wind goes wild with wailing, chilling cries
(Chorus)
Tales of the Phantom Ship
From truck to keel in flame
She sails the wild Northumberland Strait
No one knows her name
Tales of the Phantom Ship
"It's the ship of fire," they cry
Hard against the wind she sails
No one can say why
(Bridge)
Some say she's an immigrant ship of old
Highland Scots whose land was stole
And lost at sea while seeking the new land
Or a ghostly American Privateer
Who plundered innocent harbours here
Cursed to sail the strait, forever damned
But an old man sang a song to me
Six hundred Acadiens drowned at sea
Deported, long ago from St. John's Isle
He says they sail this choppy strait
Through time and tide, they navigate
Searching for the means to end their long exile
(Chorus)
Tales of the Phantom Ship
From truck to keel in flame
She sails the wild Northumberland Strait
No one knows her name
Tales of the Phantom Ship
"It's the ship of fire," they cry
Hard against the wind she sails
No one can say why
(Chorus)
Tales of the Phantom Ship
From truck to keel in flame
She sails the wild Northumberland Strait
No one knows her name
Tales of the Phantom Ship
"It's the ship of fire," they cry
Hard against the wind she sails
No one can say why
