Captain Kennedy

by Neil Young

From the album: Hawks & Doves

Duration: 2:53

Hawks & Doves cover art

Lyrics for Captain Kennedy

I am a young mariner headed to war I'm thinking about 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 failing 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 passing 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 thinking about 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

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