Secret Harbor

Words and Music by Judy Collins, Ari Hest, and Russell Walden
The Judy Collins Publishing Company (ASCAP) /Busybacksoon
(BMI)/ Thirsty Fish Music (ASCAP)

I slipped into your harbor past the pirate ships
The lights were low, my sails were down
The seal of sacred silence was on my lips
I prayed the storms were weathered now

I climbed aboard at midnight, the sky was black
The gamble lost the tables turned
Even in the darkness I heard you laugh
And wept as all my bridges burned

There is a secret harbor somewhere north
A place where ships are not in flames
A cove of beauty hidden from your eyes
A place where no one knows your names

You said how can you be so innocent
You were my demon all the while
I saw the skull and crossbones on your mast
The predator behind the smile

I cursed you as the wind blew through my sails
I loved you till the moonlight drowned
I sought you through the streets and waterways
My calling for you still resounds

There is a secret Harbor somewhere north
A place where ships are not in flames
A cove of beauty hidden from your eyes
A place where no one knows your names

You wooed me with your wicked smile that night
And then promised me the moon
I saw it floating in the waters deep
And it disappeared too soon

I sailed out of your harbor, through the rising tide
My memories were filled with pain
I drifted towards the sunrise, lost in fog
Your echo had me wrapped in chains

Your promises were drifting like men who’d drowned
The bitter water beckoned me (beckoned me)
I wrapped the shadows round me once again
And sailed through storms that set me free (set me free)

There is a secret harbor somewhere north
A place where ships are not in flames
A cove of beauty hidden from your eyes
A place where no one knows your names

I washed my face in falling rain
And swore I’d find love again