The Cyber Hymnal ‎#13098

13098. When Our Ships Come Sailing Home

1 When our ships have crossed the ocean,
And have been all round the world,
When they safely gain the harbor,
And their sails again are furled;
We rejoice to see them enter,
And to know the anchor’s cast,
Raising joyful shouts of welcome,
For our ships are home at last.

Refrain:
Oh, what singing, oh, what shouting,
When our ships come sailing home;
They have stood the mighty tempests,
They have crossed the ocean’s foam;
They have passed o’er stormy billows,
But they now have gained the shore;
The anchor’s cast, they’re home at last,
The voyage is safely o’er.

2 But if there is such rejoicing
To see vessels here get home,
When we know that in a little
While these ships again will roam;
Oh, what must it be in Heaven
When a soul comes sailing in,
To go out no more forever,
Sailing on the sea of sin? [Refrain]

3 O, methinks I hear the angels shout,
"Here comes an earthly bark;
She has found her way to Heaven,
Tho’ the way was rough and dark;
But she had a star to guide her,
Called the bright and morning star;
It has guided millions over
From that distant land afar." [Refrain]

4 So with Jesus as our captain
We expect to gain that shore;
We expect to cast our anchor there,
And stay forevermore;
And we know the angels will be there
To greet us when we come;
They will join in songs of rapture,
"Welcome home, oh, welcome home." [Refrain]

Text Information

• First Line: When our ships have crossed the ocean
• Title: When Our Ships Come Sailing Home
• Author: Johnson Oatman, Jr.
• Refrain First Line: Oh, what singing, oh, what shouting
• Language: English
• Source: Songs of Love and Praise, by John R. Sweney (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: John J. Hood, 1894)
• Copyright: Public Domain
• Notes: This song was writ­ten in an age when sail­ing ships were the pri­ma­ry mode of world tra­vel. One can im­a­gine how the words re­so­nat­ed for all those who had ev­er stood on a pier wait­ing and pray­ing for the re­turn of loved ones who had been in­com­mu­ni­ca­do for weeks or months at sea.

Tune Information

• Name: [When our ships have crossed the ocean]
• Composer: John Robson Sweney
• Key: G Major or modal