Mark Knopfler 2000
First verse rewritten slightly by Alex Ellis
I am Jeremiah Dixon, I am a Geordie boy
A glass of wine with you, sir, and your company I’ll enjoy
All Durham and Northumberland is measured up by my own hand
It was my fate from birth to make my mark upon the earth
Chorus:
We are sailing to Philadelphia, A world away from the coaly Tyne
Sailing to Philadelphia, To draw the line: The Mason-Dixon Line
He calls me Charlie Mason, a stargazer am I
It seems that I was born to chart the evening sky
They’d cut me out for baking bread, but I had other dreams instead
This baker’s boy from the West Country would join the Royal Society
Now you’re a good surveyor, Dixon, but I swear you’ll make me mad
The West will kill us both, you gullible Geordie lad
You talk of liberty; how can America be free
A Geordie and a baker’s boy in the forests of the Iroquois
Now hold your head up, Mason, see, America lies there
The morning tide has raised the capes of Delaware
Come up and feel the sun! A new morning has begun
Another day will make it clear why your stars should guide us here