Jan Gillies - Musicians and Sailors

Musicians & Sailors Jan Gillies

1) As a young girl, drawn by the ocean; inspired by songs of the sea
Longing to find what love promised, I ached to be wild & free
But climbing the dunes on the shoreline, the Great Lakes were all I could see
My Midwestern mother was worried, & this is what she said to me:

Chorus:
Beware of musicians & sailors, they sail & wander away
Leaving echoes of inspiration fading like dreams in the day

2) One leads a life of adventure, the other holds hearts in their hands
As they lure us away from our troubles, transported to faraway lands
But, when the dance, it is over; you find yourself stranded ashore
Without a home, they wander alone, & leave you longing for more

Chorus:
So beware of musicians & sailors, they’ll haunt you wherever you go
The wind sings their song long after they’ve gone, leaving memories melting like snow

3) The lure of musicians and sailors, is they fan the heart to a flame
In a world full of hopeful romantics, they keep us from going insane
But the music & man are divided, and the sailor is wed to the sea
So love from afar, but bloom where you are, love must balance reality

Chorus:
And beware of musicians & sailors, they may seem too good to be true
But the bonds they can’t break can be painful mistakes, & can tear both hearts in two

4) Now I’ve been a musician & sailor, experienced life on the sea
Made music that spoke to the longing, to be more than I thought I could be
& now as I gaze at my daughter, the wisdom I want to pass on
Has shifted away from my mothers, and taken shape in this song:

Chorus:
Take care with musicians and sailors, share their love of song & sea
They bring us so much to cherish, without them what would this world be?

…But, beware of musicians and sailors, they sail & wander away