Pierce Pettis Farewell lyrics

To my daughter, Grace,
and my mother, Laura . . .
inspired by our New England ancestor.

Farewell to Newport Town
Farewell, Rhode Island Sound
Just a maiden of 16
What do I know

I love your ocean spray
Dark waves of green and grey
Upon the rocks, they break
Pounding in my soul

Bound for a marriage my father made
To a man who is twice my age
He has a fine estate
Or so I’m told

Yankee Clippers on the bay
Come to take my heart away
Far down to Charleston Town
On Carolina’s coast


Old rag-a-muffin man
Made by my mother’s hands
This and some odds and ends
Are all that I own

Bound for a marriage my father made
To a man who is twice my age
He has a fine estate
Or so I’m told

Far from the sea he lives
In the western wilderness
Where the Alabama sun
Will burn me brown

Bound for a marriage my father made
To a man who is twice my age
He has a fine estate
Or so I’m told