|
On the first day of janurary, 1892 |
|
They opened Ellis Island, |
|
And they let the people through |
|
And the first to cross the threshold of the isle of hope and tears, |
|
Was Annie Moore from Ireland, |
|
Who was only 15 years |
|
Chorus |
|
Isle of hope, isle of tears, |
|
Isle of freedom, isle of fears |
|
But its not the isle you've left behind, |
|
That isle of hunger, isle of pain, |
|
Isle you'll never see again, |
|
But the isle of home is always on your miiiiind. |
|
In a little bag she carried |
|
All her past and history, |
|
And her dreams for the future |
|
In the land of liberty |
|
And courage is the passport, |
|
When your old world disappears |
|
But theirs no future in the past when your only 15 years |
|
Chorus |
|
When they closed down Ellis island in 1943 |
|
17 million people |
|
Had come there for sanctury |
|
And in the spring when i came here |
|
And i stepped down off its piers |
|
I thought of how it must have felt when your only |
|
15 years |
|
Chorus |
