She seems a tiny thing
for such a voyage
was my thought
the day I came on board
the replica out of Grays Harbor
how could they
have sailed her round the Horn
and through Magellen Strait

Her captain Robert Gray was clearly
made of sterner stuff
than most men then or now
cruising the coast
to what would would soon become
the states of Oregon
and Washington
he was the first non-native
to discover the river
he named for his second ship
Columbia
Rediviva that was 1792
before the expedition overland
of Lewis and Clark
so Woody's song
rings with a cadence
that evokes the river's power
roll on Columbia
roll on

My friend Jim Rich crewed
with the Lady Washington
the replica that is
taught the old chanties
to school children
who came on board
and afterwards
gained a ship captain's license
now he too like Gray
is sailing other seas than ours