When Frobisher set out to find a pathway round the Earth
Francis Drake had sailed south, so Martin ventured north—
Off Baffin Isle came through a gale and their a draught he drank
And ere he sailed home again, he stopped to offer thanks:
I’ve been to the ramparts of Arctic ice and snow
To seek a northwest passage where other men may go:
From Newfoundland our homeland calls, sweet England’s isle o’green
God save great Bess and speed us hence to offer thanks again.
Others joined the high stakes game, paid an awful cost
Humphrey Gilbert, Henry Hudson, Franklin’s party lost
They took the chance and drove on hard, northward from Grand Banks
And we don’t know if on the way, they stopped to offer thanks:
(repeat as above)
To get there first and win an edge with wind and steam and sail
We built a ditch through Panama, a long portage by rail
While in the Arctic Amundson and Larsen tried anew—
Gave thanks for winters on the way, and found a passage through:
We’ve been to the ramparts of Arctic ice and snow
And found a northwest passage where other men may go:
From Newfoundland our homeland calls, Norway’s coast of green
God save King Hakron, speed us thence to offer thanks again.
Our planet Earth’s a whirling top, poised along the edge
Of inner strife and outer space, she toddles on a ledge
Up North the ice is thawing, no walls to hold us back—
Before we push into the void, let’s think and offer thanks:
We are leaving the orbit around the Earth we know
To seek a path through galaxies where humankind may go:
Our home is by a yellow star, a jewel of blue and green
God bless our Earth and bring us back to offer thanks again.