Song - "Heave-ho"

Lyrics

[Verse 1]

Come on lads, let's sing tonight!

Heave-ho, the wind did roar

waves that towered with great might,

when we were far from shore!

[Verse 2]

The boat was tossed, our hearts grew weak,

Heave-ho, as the rain poured down.

We woke our Lord in the decks below,

to say "We perish! We’re going to drown!”

[Chorus]

He said... "Hear my voice, oh stormy sea!

Peace, be still, let your waters flee!"

The wind and waves obeyed His will,

at His word, the waves were still.

[Verse 3]

He rose and spoke with sovereign power,

Heave-ho, the tempest ceased,

The storm fell silent in that hour,

The chaos turned to peace.

[Chorus]

He said... "Hear my voice, oh stormy sea!

Peace, be still, let your waters flee!"

The wind and waves obeyed His will,

at His word, the waves were still.

[Verse 4]

“What kind of man is this?” we cry,

Heave-ho, our fears are gone,

With Him, land sea and air comply,

so listen to our song.

[Chorus]

He said... "Hear my voice, oh stormy sea!

Peace, be still, let your waters flee!"

Oh brothers, just as the waves were still,

we all must obey His will.

Background

As a native of Devon, I've always had a certain affinity for the sea. The app I use to make these songs recently added "Boogie Celtic" as a genre, and upon producing a few songs with it, I noticed they often sounded like sea shanties. I've always wanted to write one of these, and the Bible just happens to have three whole accounts of a time when Jesus and His Apostles were out to sea. So, I sat down, wrote these lyrics, fed them to Mozart AI, and Heave-ho was produced. It didn't turn out quite as I intended, but by happy accident, the introduction is far better than I imagined. I can absolutely picture a boat captain standing on the decks encouraging his men "come on lads, let's sing tonight...". Though interestingly, even though my song includes the words "we woke our Lord in the decks below", the boat in which these events took place may not have had "decks below". Rather, it would likely have been a small fishing boat, and the Scriptures tell us Jesus slept in the stern (the back end), rather than below deck. But since when have sea shanties been perfectly accurate? 😉

Scripture references

Mark 4:35–41; Matthew 8:23–27; Luke 8:22–25.

AI usage

This song was produced using Mozart AI.