Lyrics to
Terra Nova

This version of Terra Nova was released by James Taylor in 1977.

Our About James Taylor page at Decade Lyrics includes the lyrics for Terra Nova from 1977 as well as all of the other lyrics from James Taylor that we have in our lyrics database.

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Oh, end this day, show me the ocean. When shall I see the sea?
May this day set me in emotion, I ought to be on my way.

We were there, we were sailing on the Terra Nova.
Sailing for the setting sun, sailing for the new horizon.
May this day show me an ocean, I ought to be on my way.

Ought to be on my way right now.
Stepping on the boat with a lump in my throat, on my way right now.

I got a letter from a dear friend of mine, the story of a spiritual awakening.
She spoke of her love returning in kind, she let me know that she’d be waiting.
And I should be on my way by now.
Walking across the floor, reaching for the door, on my way by now.

But here I sit, country fool that I am, my elbow on my knee and my chin in my hand.
My mind in the gutter and my eye on the street, holed up in a cave of concrete.
And I ought to be on my way right now.
Packing my things while the telephone rings, on my way right now.

I miss my lovely mother and I love my lonely father.
I know I owe my brothers one thing and another, I hear my sister singing.
And I ought to be on my way right now.
Moving across the land with my heart in my hand, on my way by now,
ought to be on my way by now.

Oh, end this day, set me in motion. Ought to be on my way.

Out of the west of Lambert’s Cove, there’s a sail out in the sun.
And I’m on board though very small, I’ve come home to stop yearning.
Burn off the haze around the shore, turn off the crazy way I feel.
I’ll stay away from you no more, I’ve come home to stop yearning.

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James Taylor has released many songs over the years besides Terra Nova. James Taylor released songs from 1968 to 2002 spanning across albums like James Taylor, Sweet Baby James, Mud Slide Slim And The Blue Horizon, One Man Dog, Walking Man, Gorilla, In The Pocket, JT, Flag, Dad Loves His Work, That's Why I'm Here, Never Die Young, New Moon Shine, Hourglass, and October Road. Decade Lyrics has over lyrics & songs by James Taylor.

If you're a fan of popular 1970s songs looking for more songs from 1977 or the 1970s overall, you've come to the right place!

About Lyrics and Terra Nova by James Taylor

The lyrics to Terra Nova are just the words, phrases, verses and chorus that James Taylor used when the song was created in 1977. The lyrics to Terra Nova have both easy-to-spot meanings and hidden metaphors that have been discussed by the music press and fans, but only James Taylor and any collaborators know all of the inspirations for the song.

If you like etymology or breaking apart phrases and words, it is easy to understand the lyrics to Terra Nova by James Taylor. The word "lyric" itself derives from the Latin word lyricus, with the actual English word lyrics applied to the definition "words set to music" listed in Stainer and Barrett's 1876 Dictionary of Musical Terms. Continuing the chain, the Latin word lyricus derives from the Greek word λυρικός or lyrikós. This somewhat means "poetry accompanied by the lyre" or "words set to music." You can easily see that by looking at the background of the word lyric, that the "lyrics to Terra Nova" means the words set to the music of Terra Nova, or poetry accompanied by the lyre played by James Taylor. The singular form "lyric" is still used to mean the complete words to a song. However, the singular form lyric is also commonly used to refer to a specific line (or phrase) within a song's lyrics. Hence, by this analysis of word structure, you could say that the lyric to Terra Nova and the lyrics to Terra Nova are both one and the same thing. None of this talk about the word Lyrics is really relevant to fans of James Taylor who came here looking just for the lyrics to Terra Nova, but we feel it is still fun to learn what's behind commonly used words and lyrics in songs.

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