The Beach Boys – Sail On, Sailor Lyrics | Genius Lyrics
Cover art for Sail On, Sailor by The Beach Boys

Sail On, Sailor

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Jan. 8, 19731 viewer21.4K views

Sail On, Sailor Lyrics

[Verse 1]
I sailed an ocean, unsettled ocean
Through restful waters and deep commotion
Often frightened, unenlightened
Sail on, sail on, sailor

[Verse 2]
I wrest the waters, fight Neptune's waters
Sail through the sorrows of life's marauders
Unrepenting, often empty
Sail on, sail on, sailor

[Bridge]
Caught like a sewer rat, alone, but I sail
Bought like a crust of bread, but oh, do I wail

[Chorus]
Seldom stumble, never crumble
Try to tumble, life's a rumble
Feel the stinging I've been given
Never ending, unrelenting
Heartbreak searing, always fearing
Never clearing, persevering
Sail on, sail on, sailor

[Verse 3]
I work the seaways, the gale-swept seaways
Past shipwrecked daughters of wicked waters
Uninspired, drenched and tired
Wail on, wail on, sailor
[Chorus 2]
Always needing, even bleeding
Never feeding all my feelings
Damn the thunder, must I blunder
There's no wonder all I'm under
Stop the crying and the lying
And the sighing and my dying
Sail on, sail on, sailor

[Outro]
Sail on, sail on, sailor
Sail on, sail on, sailor
Sail on, sail on, sailor
Sail on, sail on, sailor
Sail on, sail on, sailor
Sail on, sail on, sailor

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Genius Annotation

“Sail On, Sailor” is a song by American rock band the Beach Boys from their 1973 album Holland. According to Jon Stebbins, “It is perhaps the only perennial Beach Boys favorite to still thrive in the classic rock and album rock FM radio formats of the present.”

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Credits
Producer
Tambourine By
ARP Odyssey
Hammond Organ By
Electric Guitar by
Drums By
Lead Vocals By
Wurlitzer Electric Piano By
Piano By
Recorded At
Village Recorders, Los Angeles, CA (November 28, 1972)
Release Date
January 8, 1973
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