Good-bye, Fare Ye Well Lyrics

Oh fare ye well, I wish you well
Good-bye, fare ye well
Good-bye, fare ye well
Oh fare ye well, my bonnie young girl
Hurrah my boys, we're homeward bound

Oh don't you hear the old man say
Good-bye, fare ye well
Good-bye, fare ye well
We're homeward bound this very day
Hurrah my boys, we're homeward bound

We're homeward bound and I hear the sound
Good-bye, fare ye well
Good-bye, fare ye well
So heave on the capstan and make it spin round
Hurrah my boys, we're homeward bound

Our anchors aweigh and our sails they are set
Good-bye, fare ye well
Good-bye, fare ye well
And the girls we are leaving we leave with regret
Hurrah my boys, we're homeward bound

Oh fare ye well, I wish you well
Good-bye, fare ye well
Good-bye, fare ye well
Oh fare ye well, my bonnie young girl
Hurrah my boys, we're homeward bound

Good-bye, Good-bye, Good-bye
Good-bye, fare well, fare well
Good-bye, fare ye well

"Sung as the anchor was raised. On sailing day as the ship's crew raised the anchor to this shanty, cheering rang out from the other ships wishing them well. Sometimes other crews would come on board to help with raising the anchor, and up to two hundren men might be heaving and singing the same shanty."

Capstan - a verticle-axled rotating machine
Developed for use on sailing ships to apply
Force to ropes, cables and hawsers.
Aweigh - raised just clear of the bottom, used
Of an anchor.