Shams - Brazzaville

Ali was a sailor’s son

Joined the merchant fleet at twenty-one

Dreams of ports in distant lands

A bag of figs and some low-grade heroin

As the years rolled by at sea

Ali thought about his destiny

Tired of the sailor’s life

Ali thought he’d find himself a wife

Lisbon, Guangzhou, Taipei, Bandung

Naples, Brunei, Capetown, Shanghai

Bangkok, Pusan, Dublin, Luzon

Lima, Dakar, Cypress, Malta

Sometimes things aren’t what they seem

Late one night our sailor had a dream

A queen of Indonesian lore

A voice he’d loved a thousand years or more

Lisbon, Guangzhou, Taipei, Bandung

Naples, Brunei, Capetown, Shanghai

Bangkok, Pusan, Dublin, Luzon

Lima, Dakar, Cypress, Malta

When the typhoon struck at dawn

Ali had his finest civvies on

All the crew were cramped below

And with a smile into the sea he dove

Lisbon, Guangzhou, Taipei, Bandung

Naples, Brunei, Capetown, Shanghai

Bangkok, Pusan, Dublin, Luzon

Lima, Dakar, Cypress, Malta