Starlight

Starlight
by John McCutcheon
© 1996 Appalsongs (ASCAP)

When the sky was new and the nights were endless
And the world and we were young,
The old ones strung the stars into stories
And a tale took every tongue.
“There’s the North Star and the Great Bear
There’s Orion, the hunter, on the horizon over there.
Every once in a while he lets loose a flare
And into the darkness some lost star is hurled”
And he sings...
Starlight, star bright, first star that I see tonight.
I wish I may I wish I might have my dreams come true.
Starlight, star bright, first star that I see tonight.
I wish I may I wish I might have my dreams come true.

Out on the sea, with her sails a-billow,
A ship plows a lonely line
Out on the foredeck the eye of a sailor
Searches the heavens for a sign
"If I sight true and I sail right
Keep the Cross on my shoulder, Polaris in sight
We'll be safe in the harbor tomorrow night!"
Well the moon, like a beacon does shine.
And they sang...
Starlight, star bright, first star that I see tonight.
I wish I may I wish I might have my dreams come true.
Starlight, star bright, first star that I see tonight.
I wish I may I wish I might have my dreams come true.

And so, tonight, like some homesick sailors,
We too search the heavens for a sign
Like my mother's own mother, I trace out the stories
To this young voyageur at my side
And we reach out and we dream long
And we tell our tales and we sing our songs
And, like ancient stargazers, we travel along
On this midnight, mystery ride.
And we all sing...
Starlight, star bright, first star that I see tonight.
I wish I may I wish I might have my dreams come true.
Starlight, star bright, first star that I see tonight.
I wish I may I wish I might have my dreams come true.

It's one world and one sky
We get one chance and we get one try
And each generation: the same question, "Why?"…
Starlight, star bright, first star that I see tonight.
I wish I may I wish I might have my dreams come true.
Starlight, star bright, first star that I see tonight.
I wish I may I wish I might have my dreams come true.

This song appears on Tom Chapin's Doing Our Job CD.

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