when i boarded that steamer
some five years ago
'cross the north atlantic
through the ice and snow
i'd a feeling luck was with me
she would stoop down and she'd kiss me
sail past lady liberty
into new york city

my thoughts were always with you
girl i swear you'd never left them
it was 'til i'd get established
somehow that never happened
was working eighty hours a week
and trying to keep my health
praying for the day
i might call you to myself

oh sweetness divine
i never meant to treat you bad
why is it when you lose something
you find out what you had
now i never became a banker
nor was i landed gentry
will you still hold me in your arms
at my port of entry

now dreams can feed the spirit
but then lies do the same thing
"we never seen anything like you
around these parts here kid"
nation full of promises
full of dreamers full of schemes
bankrupt with corruption
at the turn of the century

faithfulness and loyalty
are in short supply these days
i put a little corner on the market
and i hid them both away
in a treasure chest inside my soul
that only you can open
i will scuttle this ship of proud emotions
and the years of blindly groping