[Verse 1] He came from France with a suitcase light And a map folded small in his coat He kissed his wife at the rail that night Said, "I’ll send for you when I’ve got the boat" His oldest boy climbed in by his side Just one small bed in a borrowed room They counted coins through the winter tide And watched their future bloom [Pre-Chorus] Every letter was a rung to climb Every penny kept its place They scraped the world one day at a time For a chance to share one place [Chorus] Bring them home Bring them home Across the foam Bring them home Bring them home Bring them home To the door they left behind Bring them home this time [Verse 2] At last he bought that passage back With his hands rough from work and stone The whole wide family fit his sack And he felt less alone The children laughed at the salt wind’s bite The mother held the youngest tight He stood at the bow and prayed through night For the sight of France in sight [Pre-Chorus] The horizon kept its steady line The gulls all turned away They trusted steel and weather signs And sang the dark away [Chorus] Bring them home Bring them home Across the foam Bring them home Bring them home Bring them home To the door they left behind Bring them home this time [Bridge] But the sea turned cruel without a word And the sky went iron-gray No church bell rang, no name was heard When the water took them all away Now he stands where the harbor ends With his empty hands in rain He hears that ship in his dreams again Then wakes to salt and pain [Final Chorus] Bring them home Bring them home Across the foam Bring them home Bring them home Bring them home Though the tide has closed the line Bring them home this time
