ASHES ON THE SEA
(Bruce Phillips)

What is this tune I hear repeating
Sprung from the careless seed you've sown?
Our songs will come and go like seasons,
And bloom or fade all on their own.*

CHORUS:
Now I know I will not find you
You're gone from all but memory.
For I am told that one who loves you
Has strewn your ashes on the sea.

I stepped outside for just a moment
To turn around and look on my own face
Who was** that shadow just behind me
That old man I reach out to embrace.

It's one thing to look upon a picture
Another still to read the pages through
Perhaps to search along the wayside
Hoping I might find a trace of you.

Your dust cloud still drifts across the footprints
Your best friend's still standing there alone
Your boxcars still keep the lovers parted
Your little boys still run away from home.

What is this tune you hear repeating
Sprung from the careless seeds I've sown?
Our songs will come and go like seasons
And bloom or fade all on their own.

LAST CHORUS (sing twice):
Now I know I will not find you
You're gone from all but memory.
For I am told that one who loves you
Has strewn your ashes on the sea.

Tune: similar to Lorena

JRO & CB ^^

*alternate: And bloom off and die on their own.
**alternate: You are

Source: Starlight on the Rails and Other Songs, a songbook by U.Utah Phillips 1973 and 2011 - altered to reflect the way Kendall sang it.

Kendall Morse singing, with intro by Utah Phillips:

• Intro (Utah): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sI8-Tc1r45A
• Song (Kendall): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c_I13YjzPUw