The Beauty of Alaska

When winter’s chill has settled on the Bay
The ice has frozen thickly
How can we pass the time away
Making the hours go quickly
Another season come and gone
Thank God no grave disaster
We gather where they know our names
To drink to the beauty of Alaska

We have fished close in to shore
We have gone out farther
We have crossed the harbor bar
Also the bars in the harbor
We’re not the masters of our fate
But no man is our master
So we raise our glasses high
To drink to the beauty of Alaska

All praise to the man who invented beer
The woman who discovered whiskey
If not for them, would we be here
Drinking a toast to their memory
Some choose to sip their poison slow
Some to swallow faster
But all will stand and drain their glass
To drink to the beauty of Alaska

When the fog is thick as snow
Can’t see the town lights blinking
That beauty’s still out there somewhere
So we just keep on drinking
The barmaid is a tough old hand
You can’t put nothing past her
She’ll throw you out if you don’t stand
To drink to the beauty of Alaska

When the ice has broken up
The sea no longer risky
We haul our gear aboard the boats
Plus six weeks’ worth of whiskey
Late at night when stars go pale
Moon shines on the water
We prop our feet on the starboard rail
To drink to the beauty of Alaska

So stranger, pull your chair up close
You are welcome with us
If you support us in this fight
If not, then God forgive us
Time may not be on our side
And time keeps moving faster
Ten years from now, will we be here
To drink to the beauty of Alaska

May the sea that gives us work
Be always here to feed us
May the owners of the bars
Know how much they need us
When our final voyage ends
Weary lonesome travelers
Sprinkle whiskey on our graves
So we can drink to the beauty of Alaska…

Long live the beauty of Alaska