Harbor of שמחה (The Queen’s Courage)

Verse 1 — Haifa Departure On the docks of Haifa at sunrise fair, With Carmel wind in the salted air, Stood a ship with a proud white mast — The Queen’s Courage built to last. They said she carried citrus crates, And startup dreams in shipping weights, Seven billion grapefruits, dates galore, And half of Tel Aviv’s tech store. Olive oil by the ton and more, Waze directions for every shore, Tomatoes red as a rabbi’s tie — Enough to feed old Dublin dry. We laughed and hauled with a heave and shove, Left Harbor of שמחה with songs of love. Chorus So haul away on The Queen’s Courage bold! (From Haifa’s light to Dublin’s cold!) If you think the joy stays docked ashore — You’ve not known Jews before! Raise the mast and let her fly! (Through the Mediterranean sky!) For we don’t leave the light behind — We carry it in mind! Verse 2 — Mediterranean Trouble Past Cyprus winds the waters turned, The decks ran slick and lanterns burned, The cook lost grip on lentil stew — Sent half the pot to Neptune too. Storm clouds stacked like Pharaoh’s pride, Lightning split the darkened tide, Barrels rolled and ropes snapped tight — Three long days and longer night. One man swore we’d not see land, Another clutched his Tehillim in hand, The bosun muttered through his beard — “Why’d we sail this time of year?” Yet still we sang through spray and brine, Though joy felt distant as the line. Pre-Chorus — The Calendar Turns Then someone checked the moonless sky — A sliver thin and passing by. “Lads,” he said, “before you roar — It’s רֹאשׁ חֹדֶשׁ אֲדָר once more.” The sea was dark as ink could pour, No lantern lit the ocean floor, But something sparked within the chest — A shift no storm could wrest. Chorus — Turning Point So haul away though skies are black! (מרבין בשמחה — we won’t turn back!) The moon may hide but hearts ignite — We sing into the night! Raise your voice above the gale! (משנכנס אֲדָר — we prevail!) The wind may howl and waves may roar — But joy’s what steers the oar! Verse 3 — Joy on Deck It started small — a fiddle’s strain, A reel that cut through wind and rain, The cook found apples none had seen, Declared a feast for the whole ship’s crew. The lad from Jaffa stomped his boot, The Corkman grabbed a battered flute, Someone danced on a rolling crate — We nearly lost the first mate! The storm still churned the briny foam, But deck became a dancing home, From Haifa’s port to open sea — שמחה ran wild and free. Bridge — Thematic Core You think when leaving Israel’s shore The joy stays locked behind the door. But light’s not stone or sand or sea — It sails in memory. Torah learned in desert heat, Walks in boots on Irish street, Harbor of שמחה isn’t land — It’s what you carry in your hand. The Queen’s Courage cut through spray, But hearts had turned the storm away. Final Chorus — Approaching Dublin Now Dublin lights on horizon burn! (From Haifa’s shore we return!) Not with cargo crates alone — But joy that’s fully grown! Raise the sail and ring the bell! (No tyrant’s tide could make us quell!) משנכנס אֲדָר מרבין בשמחה — From shore to shore we swell! Outro — Docking We tied her fast at Dublin quay, Salt in beard and laughing free, They asked us what we’d come ashore for — “Just a bit of Israeli light,” we swore. The Queen’s Courage rests tonight, But the fiddles blaze in pub-fire bright. For Harbor of שמחה, as it seems — Was never the port. It was what we dreamed.