The Last Farewell Lyrics

Lyric discussion by raenman 

Cover art for The Last Farewell lyrics by Roger Whittaker

Have listened to this song many times. In some earlier times; WWII, maybe the 1800"s the writer may refer to being in the Philippines or in that general area. He may not be refering to a woman that is beautiful but the islands themselves.
50 years ago I was stationed in Taiwan and Okinawa for 4 years. Okinawa is a great island to spend time on, but not "beautiful" like Taiwan. Taiwan was named Formosa by the Portuguise which means Beautiful Island. My wife is from Taiwan and she is beautiful also, so to me Roger could have been singing about a woman or an island. He sings about death and dying, we didnt have to go through that. I mention the Philippines because he sings of "foreign flag a-rising" , sounds like the invasion by the Japanese of that whole area.

My Interpretation

@raenman

Quick tidbit to dating the era of sea travel: the ship sits 'rigged and ready' not 'steaming' in the harbour. definite distinction between sail and steam ships.