D           Bm                A
I stood and looked across the water
D        Bm               A
I had to get to the other side
G         D          
Because I knew that you'd be waitin
G        Bm               A        D
I didn't want to take the long way round.

The captain said the ship was leavin
And that we'd better get on board
I settled down to watch the sunrise
And wondered if I'd see the sun go down.

Gm          F                      Eb
The sea was rough and the wind was howlin
Gm        F                C
But I was laughing all the way
Gm       F              Eb
I didn't care about the weather
G         D    
Because I knew that you'd be waitin
D        Bm               A        D
I didn't want to take the long way round

Then a stranger sat beside me
It was my brother in disguise
He said he knew where I was goin
He asked me why I took the long way round.

(SOLO)

The sea was rough and the wind was howlin
But I was laughing all the way
I didn't listen to the stranger
Because I knew that you'd be waitin
I didn't want to take the long way round

At last, I came to my destination
The stranger turned and walked away
He didn't know where he was goin
He said he had to take the long way round.

I stood and looked across the water
I thought of what I'd left behind
Because I knew that you'd be waitin
I didn't want to take the long way round.

Because I knew that you'd be waitin
I didn't want to take the long way round.