I grew up a Camp Fire Girl (changed to simply "Camp Fire" while I was growing up), and we sang "Barges" every summer at Camp Kilowan,
near Falls City, Oregon (I attended from 1978-1989, missing only the summer of 1987).

We were told that this song was written by a little girl dying of leukemia in a hospital room overlooking the Columbia River.

Every night, from her bed, she would watch the barges go down the river, and she wrote the first two verses and the chorus.

After her death, her nurse wrote the final verse for her.

This is how WE sang it, in two-part harmony:

Out of my window, looking in the night,
I can see the barges flickering light.
Silently flow the waters to the sea,
And the barges, too, go silently.

chorus:
Barges, I would like to go with you;
I would like to sail the ocean blue.
Barges, have you treasures in your hold?
Do you fight with pirates brave and bold?

Out of my window, looking in the night,
I can see the barges' flickering light.
Starboard shines green, and port is glowing red---
I can see your signals far ahead.

chorus

How I would love to sail away with you---
I would like to sail the ocean blue.
But I must stay beside my window drear
As I watch you sail away from here.