As homeward bound one night on the deep
Swinging in my hammock I fell asleep
I dreamed a dream and I thought it true
Concerning Franklin and his gallant crew.
With a hundred seamen he sailed away
The frozen ocean in the month of May
To seek a passage around the pole
Where we poor seamen do sometimes go.
In Baffin Bay where the whale fish blow
The fate of Franklin no man may know
The fate of Franklin no tongue can tell
Lord Franklin along with his sailors doth dwell.
And now my burden it gives me pain
For the faithful Franklin I'd cross the main
Ten thousand pounds would I freely give
To see on Earth that my Franklin‘d live.