Wow - what an interesting thread. Well, I learned the song some 20 years ago (early 80's), but it was at some sort of Catholic camp. It popped into my head watching a discovery channel thing, including discussions of submarines, and shipping... But I also know a woman with cystic fibrosis in London...when she was last stuck in the hospital for a week, she was taking pictures on her phone and later uploaded them to facebook. The sick girl story is entirely plausible - there could easily be someone stuck in a hospital, overlooking a river, awake enough to write a short song. And, frankly, those who are sick like that REALLY get tired of being stuck in the hospital for health reasons...they want to go explore and see the world while they still can.
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