ONE LIFE DREW

Colin, you are dearly missedThe island it is silent now But the ghosts still haunt the waves And the torch lights up a famished man Who fortune could not saveDid you work upon the railroad Did you rid the streets of crime Were your dollars from the white house Were they from the five and dimeDid the old songs taunt or cheer you And did they still make you cry Did you count the months and years Or did your teardrops quickly dryAh, no, says he, twas not to be On a coffin ship I came here And I never even got so far That they could change my nameThousands are sailing Across the western ocean To a land of opportunity That some of them will never see Fortune prevailing Across the western ocean Their bellies full Their spirits free Theyll break the chains of poverty And theyll danceIn manhattans desert twilight In the death of afternoon We stepped hand in hand on broadway Like the first man on the moonAnd the blackbird broke the silence As you whistled it so sweet And in brendan behans footsteps I danced up and down the streetThen we said goodnight to broadway Giving it our best regards Tipped our hats to mister cohen Dear old times squares favorite bardThen we raised a glass to jfk And a dozen more besides When I got back to my empty room I suppose I must have criedThousands are sailing Again across the ocean Where the hand of opportunity Draws tickets in a lottery Postcards were mailing Of sky-blue skies and oceans From rooms the daylight never sees Where lights dont glow on christmas trees But we dance to the music And we danceThousands are sailing Across the western ocean Where the hand of opportunity Draws tickets in a lottery Where eer we go, we celebrate The land that makes us refugees From fear of priests with empty plates From guilt and weeping effigies