Now high, now low, as the breezes blow,
A ship o'er the ocean comes stately and slow.
In the harbor is waiting a sailor's fair bride.
And she sings a sweet song to the child at her side,
Now high, now low, as the breezes blow
Now high, now low.

As the surges flow,
A wreck on the ocean sways to and fro.
And the sailor lies deep
In the ocean's dark bed,
And he sleeps in the stillness the sleep of the dead,
Now high, now low, as the breezes blow.