MY SHIP APPROACH"step by step". ME THRILLED SEE COAST.
STAR SCADS-OF ROTATE-IN-SKY-CCW, GUIDE ME HOME SAFE.
HOME, MY HOME. PAH OCEAN WATER-CALM. STORM WE PASS, NOW FAR-AWAY.
SAIL RIPPED, SEEM WAVE-AT MY HOME SAFE.

LAMP HOUSE SEARCHLIGHT-REVOLVE FRIENDS WAIT"over time".
HOURS-AND-HOURS THEY-rt LOOK-FORWARD ME COME-#BACK.
HAPPEN ME CONFRONT OCEAN RAIN, YOU-lf PROVIDE PEACE-OF-MIND.
SOMETIMES OCEAN SUMMON ME LEAVE MY HOME SAFE.

DURING WIND CAUSE WATER BUBBLE, BUT SAIL QUIET, SPIRIT NOT MOVE,
ME SEE THROUGH F-O-G, MY HOME SAFE SHINY.
LAMP HOUSE LANTERN-REVOLVE FRIENDS WAIT"over time".
HOURS-AND-HOURS THEY-rt LOOK-FORWARD ME COME-#BACK.

THAT PLACE SUMMON MY HEART. STORM NOISY, STILL ME MISS.
||: SOMEDAY ME GO-#BACK SAFE HEAVEN. STAY FOREVER, TRAVEL NO-MORE. :||

Notes: I find this song quite unusual in the annals of religious music. It is very subtle and only alludes to God, Heaven and salvation. Cooney has also written very traditional songs, so I am curious why he chose this style. At any rate, I feel led to add a tinge of religious message to it, since it is in the subtext. I say this by way of explaining why I don't go with a more literal translation.

ME - Underlined words are honorific indices ("indexes"), using the FT of the upturned palm to indicate who is being honored.

COAST - (2h)[B], POs ><, FOs up, NDH is held still and DH smacks against it and moves up with wg to show waves crashing on the shore.

SCADS-OF - (2h)[5:], POs down, FOs away, move forward to show many things.

ROTATE-IN-SKY-CCW - (2h)[5:] grasp the sky as if it were a large sphere and twist it counterclockwise.

PAH - Like SUCCEED but "pah" is mouthed and has the meaning of "at long last". For a QuickTime movie of this sign, see ASL browser - finally.

WATER-CALM - (2h)[5], POs down, FOs away, show the surface to be relatively calm.

SAIL - DH [B^], PO > signer, FO up, rests on dorsal (back) side of hand which is held as in TABLE. The signer blows into the DH palm and the "ship" moves forward.

RIPPED - Mime ripping something.

WAVE-AT - Wave in greeting.

SEARCHLIGHT-REVOLVE - [5^] is held high and twists so that the palm shows a searchlight revolving.

HOURS-AND-HOURS - HOURS++.

COME-#BACK - (2h)[B], POs > signer, FOs up, move > signer while changing to (2h)[C] and then (2h)[K].

CONFRONT - (2h)[B], POs ><, FOs away, DH above NDH, hands moves away, then tilt until FOs are up.

PEACE-OF-MIND - (2h)[V], POs away, FOs up, are held like the peace sign of the flower children ("hippies").

BUBBLE - (2h)[S], POs up, FOs away, alt. open and close but stay in place.

SHINY - (2h)[open 8], POs down, FOs away, twist rapidly at wrists while rising. For a QuickTime file of this sign, see ASL Pro: Shine.

The signs between "||:" and ":||" are to be repeated.

GO-#BACK - [B], PO away, FO up, fingers curl, then staighten to a [K], while moving to one side (you choose the side).

NO-MORE - (2h)[B], POs down, cross at wrists, then uncross moving horizontally and emphatically. For a QuickTime movie of this sign, see ASL browser - don't.

Lyrics:

Sweet vision! Bless my eyes? Land upon the western skies!
Constant stars, I bid you rise over Safety Harbor.
Home, home! At last becalmed. Far behind us screams the storm.
Tattered canvas waves like arms greeting Safety Harbor.

From the windows of the tower where the beacon burns,
Faithful friends at every hour watch for my return.
Yours the calm and peace I claim when I face the waves and rain,
When the searoad calls my name out from Safety Harbor.

Through the fearsome, foaming gale, when no spirit fills my sail,
I shall see, though sight may fail, lights of Safety Harbor.
Where from windows of the tower, bright the beacon burns.
Faithful friends at every hour watch for my return.

Heart's haven, memories' shore, call me through the tempest's roar
||: Where the pilgrim sails no more, home to Safety Harbor. :||