By the Stade I met a fisherman
With his beard as white as snow
And a net in his hand with a fish that had been caught
And he spoke to me when he looked at the sea
And the tide as it came in
Watching the water carry up to him
Watching the water carry up to him
By the old town I walked
As the evening sky grew ‘round
And the songs from the taverns came into the air
And the tables were all crowded
With men come from the sea
And the women folk who made their fortune there
And the women folk who made their fortune there
CH Oh fortune fortune riches of change
Bourne on the whim of what God sends
Fortune fortune and the wind brings a change
Of luck to the one who hath brought it
So the next day they rowed
The wind gathered in their sails
And they left from the land that had been shelter to them
And they passed to only they know where
Like Dante and his Beatrice
At the place where the bridges seemed to disappear
CH
In a dream I had before I had the knowledge of my dreaming
A bird that was wrapped in silver sang to me
That I would have my freedom
Only if I gave my golden cape to the beggar with my name
My golden cape to the beggar with my name
CH