(Jerry Bryant)
In Brooklyn, New York, at the turn of the century,
Lived two young Norwegians so brave and so bold,
Frank Samuelson only halfway through his twenties,
George Harbo had just become thirty years old.
Now, Harbo had spent all his life on the water,
He shipped in square riggers when only a lad,
His partner likewise was no stranger to working,
No matter the task he gave all that he had.
That year a rich publisher offered a challenge,
That men in a vessel no matter the size,
Couldn't cross the Atlantic without steam or canvas,
Ten thousand dollars he named as the prize.
Now dredging up oysters by hand is no picnic,
And these two Norwegians were tough as a whip.
Says Frank, "If we row only four miles an hour,
In fifty-four days we could finish the trip."
Chorus:
"We'll see you in France or we'll see you in Heaven,"
Cried Harbo and Samuelson out on the bay,
Two hardy young oystermen after adventure,
And no one believed they could row all the way.
Obtaining a sponsor they started their training,
They ordered a dory of cedar and oak.
Just eighteen feet long with a draft of eight inches,
Fox was the name of their cockleshell boat.
On the sixth day of June, eighteen-ninety and six,
Messrs. Harbo and Samuelson started to row.
They took food and water to last them till August,
And the newspapers said they were foolish to go.
Chorus:
From the slips of Manhattan they rowed through the narrows,
Out onto the gulf stream and over the deep,
Each day they would row eighteen hours together,
At night they took turns getting three hours sleep.
Their stove wouldn't light so they ate cold provisions,
Their arms and their legs became swollen and cramped.
The odd passing vessel that took them on board ,
Was their only relief from the cold and the damp.
Chorus:
Then out on the Grand Banks the weather attacked them,
The wind humped the water into mountainous waves.
They lashed down their oars and tied on their lifelines
And prayed they were not going straight to their graves.
Then out of the dark came a monstrous wave,
Capsizing the Fox and her terrified crew,
Their lifelines held fast, but they lost half their water,
And most of their food it was swept away, too.
Chorus:
They carefully rationed the little remaining,
Praying for help as they rowed o'er the brine,
Then, out in the distance they spied a tall ship,
With the colors of Norway a floating behind.
The Captain could not be convinced they weren't crazy,
But he gave them supplies and they went on their way.
By the lines on the charts they were half-way to Europe,
But now they must row sixty miles every day.
Chorus:
The weather held fair and the two men kept pulling,
All through each long day and far into each night,
Then early one morning before the sun rose,
Far out on the horizon they spotted a light.
On August the first they made land off St. Mary's,
On the south coast of England just by Bishop's Rock,
In amazement the townsfolk gathered down by the water,
Where Harbo and Samuelson barely could walk.
Chorus:
Most men would have stopped there to bask in the glory,
After having been sunbeaten, capsized and starved,
But they were both back in their boat the next morning,
And in less than a week they arrived at Le Havre.
So those of you listening who yearn for adventure,
Like Harbo and Samuelson so long ago,
Like them, be prepared for the task you are facing,
They were not only brave but by God they could row!