AMBERGRIS 
75 
 
 
 
FROM THE ARGONAUTS 
 
Chorus of Shipbuilders 
 
The sound of the hammer and steel ! 
The song of the level and line ! 
The whirr of the whistling wheel ! 
The ring of the axe on the pine ! 
 
The joy of the ended labour, 
As the good ship plunges free 
By sound of pipe and tabor 
To front the sparkling sea ! 
 
The mystery-woven spell ! 
The voyage of golden gain ! 
The free full sails that swell 
On the swell of the splendid main ! 
 
The song of the axe and the wedge ! 
The clang of the hammer and chain ! 
Keen whistle of chisel and edge ! 
Smooth swish of the sliding plane ! 
 
Hail to the honour of toil ! 
Hail !  to the ship flown free ! 
Hail !  to the golden spoil, 
And the glamour of all the sea !