Shams Lyrics

Ali was a sailor's son
Joined the merchant fleet at twenty-one
Dreams of ports in distant lands
A bag of figs and some low-grade heroin
As the years rolled by at sea
Ali thought about his destiny
Tired of the sailor's life
Ali thought he'd find himself a wife

Lisbon, Guangzhou, Taipei, Bandung,
Naples, Brunei, Capetown, Shanghai,
Bangkok, Pusan, Dublin, Luzon,
Lima, Dakar, Cypress, Malta
Sometimes things aren't what they seem
Late one night our sailor had a dream
A queen of Indonesian lore
A voice he'd loved a thousand years or more

Lisbon, Guangzhou, Taipei, Bandung...

When the typhoon struck at dawn
Ali had his finest civvies on
All the crew were cramped below
And with a smile into the sea he dove
Lisbon, Guangzhou, Taipei, Bandung...

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David Brown - vox, saxophone
Miiko Watanabe - bass
Mike Boito - piano
Danny Frankel - drums, tamborine
Smokey Hormel - guitar