Far from the lights of home they sailed
Sailed for glory, death or glory
A chance to redeem what had gone before
Change the story
Out they went in to that endless white night
Tired and frozen, scared and frozen
And many a sailor heard the call of death
And many were chosen

Will we ever see such bravery and loyalty far beyond men
Facing the enemy through his frailty

Went Captain Vallery
A hundred endless nights and so many sites no one should have to see
Fear can kill a man, yet still they stand
For Captain Vallery
Minus sixty degrees, still it doesn't freeze, blindly they push on
Into the gathering storm and the wild dawn
Oh Captain Vallery
A kind of burning cold gets in to your soul, strips you down to the bone
On through the flying ice and more sacrifice
Oh Captain Vallery
Captain Vallery


So far, so hard, then over again
Lifting their spirits, a god among men
They gave their all for the lights of home

Swirling fog claws at his throat
As he stares out to sea
Every day his burden grows
Oh Captain Vallery
Breathing orders, breathing blood
The fever burns his lungs
Not much longer now he knows

Dancing through shells and fire as the flames grew higher, pitching and tossing she went
Over the peak and then plunging down again
Went Captain Vallery
Torpedos hit the deck of the sinking wreck, a column of flame hit the sky
Onwards he urged the crew, what else could he do
Oh Captain Vallery
Captain Vallery

So tired and weary, yet he spurred them on
Like those Clydebuilt rivets his will was so strong
Each day they prayed for the lights of home

Steering through the fiery water
The smell of burning corpses
No time to help survivors
The convoy must be saved
As the ship ploughed on towards them
We wept to see their burning faces
Change from hope to horror as we mowed them down


All the times we tried to tell them
But how could they ever know
Tell me what man could endure this?
They've all gone now
As I stand without answers
As my comrades drift away
Bodies under the union flag
They've all gone now
So I played judge and jury
To those broken drowning men
I must soon share their sentence
Flesh is weak
Sitting here in the captain's chair
In command right to the last
Of the best crew I ever had
But I've let you down
The die is cast


On into the fray, no other way, orders must be obeyed
For the bravery and the memory
Of Captain Vallery
Against helpless odds in the lap of the gods, still they thundered on
Bombs and wreckage fell on that floating hell
Oh Captain Vallery

Condors filled the sky, nothing left to try, enemy ship dead ahead
and no help came through for that loyal crew
Of Captain Vallery
This was why they came, just to die in flame, the bait in a terrible trap
Their very souls they gave, no one was saved
Oh Captain Vallery
Captain Vallery

So far, so hard, then over again
Lifting their spirits, a god among men
They gave their all for the lights of home
So much from so many, for nothing but death
Each one determined to his very last breath
"We'll take some down with us! For the lights of home!"
The lights of home