[Verse 1:]
I'm just a man, but I know that I'm damned
All the dead seem to know where I am
The tale that began on the night of my birth
Will be done in a turn of the earth
[Chorus 1:]
Lie where I land let my bones turn to sand
I was born on the lake and I don't want to leave it
Every eye on the coast ever more
Will remember the sight of the ghost on the shore
[Verse 2:]
Under the waves and the earth of an age
Lie a thousand old northerners' graves
Deep in the night when the moon's glowing bright
They come rising up into the night
[Chorus 2:]
Die if I must, let my bones turn to dust
I'm the lord of the lake and I don't want to leave it
All who sail off the coast ever more
Will remember the tale of the ghost on the shore
[Bridge:]
I'm goin' away for a long, long time
I'm goin' away for a long, long time
[Chorus 1:]
Lie where I land, let my bones turn to sand
I was born on the lake and I don't want to leave it
Every eye on the coast ever more
Will remember the sight of the ghost on the shore
[Chorus 2:]
Die if I must, let my bones turn to dust
I'm the lord of the lake and I don't want to leave it
All who sail off the coast ever more
Will remember the tale of the ghost on the shore
[Outro:]
I'm goin' away for a long, long time