I'm sailing down the summer wind
I got whiskers on my chin
And I like the mood I'm in
As I while away the time of day
In the lee of Christian Island

Tall and strong she dips and reels
I call her Silver Heels
And she tells me how she feels
She's a good old boat and she'll stay afloat
Through the toughest gales and keep smiling
But for one more day she would like to stay
In the lee of Christian Island

I'm sailing down the summer day
Where fish and seagulls play
I put my troubles all away
And when the gale comes up I'll fill my cup
With the whiskey of the highlands
She's a good old ship and she'll make the trip
From the lee of Christian Island

Tall and strong she slips along
I sing for her a song
And she leans into the wind
She's a good old boat and she'll stay afloat
Through the toughest gales and keep smilin'
When the summer ends we will rest again
In the lee of Christian Island

When the summer ends we will rest again
In the lee of Christian Island


Lyrics submitted by ButNeverOutgunned

Christian Island Lyrics as written by Gordon Lightfoot

Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.

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Christian Island song meanings
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3 Comments

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  • +1
    General Comment

    Hudson Bay. . .Living in a boat on Hudson Bay and enjoying every moment.

    One of his more beautiful sea songs.

    sammyblueon June 20, 2006   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    Christian Island is in Georgian Bay, as the full title (including the brackets) should make pretty obvious. This is quite probably about experiences he's had doing one of his favourite pastimes: sailing

    Anguson November 26, 2007   Link
  • 0
    Link(s)

    (Wikipedia photo and Google Maps photos can be referenced to show the Georgian bay island. "Lee" is a nautical term and in this context refers to the side of the island that protects the boat from the wind. "The term "lee" derives from Old English "hleo". "Christian Island" (a.k.a. "Charity Island") Is in the Georgian Bay of the Great Lakes "With a protective arm of land that extends toward the mainland, Christian Island has long been known to offer excellent anchorage." "Going back in time, the indigenous peoples living there, according to historical references, had territorial disputes and during the struggle between the Iroquois and Hurons for control of the land and waterways surrounding the Great Lake back in 1639 eight French Jesuit missionaries were slain by the Iroquois and were later canonized by Pope Pius XI in 1930 and are now known as the Canadian Martyrs...") The song lyrics also use the term "Gales." "A gale is a very strong wind. There are conflicting definitions of how strong a wind must be to be considered a gale. The U.S. National Weather Service defines a gale as 34–47 knots (63–87 km/h, 17.5–24.2 m/s or 39–54 miles/hour) of sustained surface winds. ... Its full name is the Beaufort Wind Force Scale"

    ref:
    en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christian_Island other internet citations were used to generated this content, phone browser crashed and, resultingly, some links are not provided as would I like among them google.com/url

    GRANT.LENNONon May 21, 2017   Link

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