Westward from the Davis Strait 'tis there 'twas said to lie
The sea route to the Orient for which so many died
Seeking gold and glory, leaving weathered broken bones
And a long forgotten, lonely cairn of stones
Ah, for just one time, I would take the Northwest passage
To find the hand of Franklin reaching for the Beaufort Sea
Tracing one warm line through a land so wide and savage
And make a Northwest passage to the sea
Three centuries thereafter, I take passage overland
In the footsteps of brave Kelsey, where his "Sea of Flowers" began
Watching cities arise before me, then behind me sink again
This tardiest explorer, driving hard across the plain
Ah, for just one time, I would take the Northwest passage
To find the hand of Franklin reaching for the Beaufort Sea
Tracing one warm line through a land so wide and savage
And make a Northwest passage to the sea
And through the night, behind the wheel, the mileage clicking West
I think upon McKenzie, David Thompson and the rest
Who cracked the mountain ramparts and did show a path for me
To race the roaring Fraser to the sea
Ah, for just one time, I would take the Northwest passage
To find the hand of Franklin reaching for the Beaufort Sea
Tracing one warm line through a land so wide and savage
And make a Northwest passage to the sea
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How then am I so different from the first men through this way?
Like them, I left a settled life, I threw it all away
To seek a Northwest passage at the call of many men
And to find there but the road back home again
Ah, for just one time, I would take the Northwest passage
To find the hand of Franklin reaching for the Beaufort Sea
Tracing one warm line through a land so wide and savage
And make a Northwest passage to the sea
And make a Northwest passage to the sea
And make a Northwest passage to the sea