I often watch the pelicans fly
Effortless in their peaceful glide
Ugly on land
But beautiful in flight

And I dream of journeying far away
Away from the shackles of women today
Away from my fathers' shame
And my mother's grave

I saw my escape in a sailor called Jim
Naive to believe if I married him
I'd be free to live however I like

But every night he would drink
(Every night)
Rage and use his fists
(Every night)
I'd close my eyes and see
The pelicans fly

Blow high, blow low
I've been a ship with no sails to go
And I've been hauling an anchor
Bound to the deep below

Blow high, blow low
I had a dream of a ship my own
One day I'd haul up the anchor
And head for the great unknown

A woman in the eighteenth century
Is an anchored ship looking out to sea?
No soul
She's a vessel for all his needs

And there I was moored to the shore
Waiting on him and his drunken war
Firing on me till I'd wreck
On the ocean floor

But I steadied myself inside
Held together by bits of twine
I stashed my dreams
Out of sight

And every night he would drink
Rage and use his fists
I'd close my eyes and see
The pelicans fly

Blow high, blow low
I've been a ship with no sails to go
And I've been hauling an anchor
Bound to the deep below

Blow high, blow low
I had a dream of a ship my own
One day I'd haul up the anchor
And head for the great unknown