Captain Kennedy - Neil Young

I am a young mariner headed to war

I’m thinkin' 'bout my family

and what it was for

There’s water on the wood

and the sails feel good

And when I get to shore

I hope that I can kill good.

My father was a sailor

named Captain Kennedy

He lost his wooden schooner

to the Germans on the sea

Exploded on the water

for everyone to see

And humiliate that American

Captain Kennedy.

I saw him in Nassau in 1971

His strength was failin'

but he still ran a run

He worked 'til his fingers

wore to the bone

To buy that wooden schooner

and sail on his own.

He was known in the islands

as hundred foot iron

That steel hull freighter

was passin' its time

And time flew by faster

with life on the sea

And the days grew shorter

for Captain Kennedy.

I am a young mariner headed to war

I’m thinkin' 'bout my family

and what it was for

There’s water on the wood

and the sails feel good

And when I get to shore

I hope that I can kill good.