A SAILOR'S GREETING

On the deck I stand at night,
When the stars above are bright,
Far away from friends and home,
Lonely here I roam.
Swallows on their wings so high,
Now in spring they homeward fly,
To the land where sunlight beams
Into my childhood dreams.

CHORUS:
Greet my dear old mother,
Greet my father too,
And my little brother
When he welcomes you.
If I had wings to follow,
Happy would I be.
Dearest little swallow,
Greet them all from me.

Danish lyrics: Ludvig Brandstrup 1922
English translation by Frederick Wick 1948


HÄLSA DEM DÄRHEMMA (2nd Verse)

Little swallow, weak and light,
Night and day and day and night,
Toward your goal your wings so swift
Carry you away.
Swallow, listen then to me,
How I'd fly across the sea
To the meadows green at home,
Oh, swallow, hear my plea.

Swedish lyrics: Ch. Bengtsson 1920s
English translation by Anne-Charlotte Harvey 1977