Songs for Sailors :: :: University of Virginia Library

Come, sing of a name that is dear to renown;
Come, sing of our Duncan who won Camperdown;
You may talk of your Frenchmen, your Spaniards, and such,
But, for good honest fighting, now give me the Dutch.
If the roar of real broadsides you're longing to hear,
You've only to lay you alongside Mynheer;
That we've precious well known without any mistake,
Since Van Tromp and De Ruyter fought days through with Blake;
Your Mounseers and Dons fire above, not below;
They'd cripple your yards that away they may go;
But your Dutchman he fairly gets gun up to gun,
And batters your hull till he's lost or he's won;
And that's why with Nelson's we match the renown
Duncan won from De Winter at famed Camperdown.

From June to October we'd boxed it about
Off the Texel; but no, still they wouldn't come out
For gales none the tighter, for stores at a loss,
To Yarmouth we couldn't help running across;
There, while in the Roads we were victualling fast,
De Winter took courage and slipped out at last;
When, over the sands, the Black Joke signalled this,
It was all helter skelter the Dutch not to miss.
By noon we were out, with each stitch of sail spread,
Bowling onward due east with a sharp look ahead.

We'd been mutineering, but all that was done;
We'd got all we asked, and were sharp set for fun.
We'd sixteen good liners to win us renown,
And we sailed under Duncan who won Camperdown.

The eleventh at seven, at last all was right;
Trollope signalled ‘To leeward, the Dutch are in sight.’
Then we pulled us together and just before nine,
There they showed, on the starboard tack, all close in line.
Twenty-one ships and four brigs were there sure enough,
And we knew we'd to deal with the right fighting stuff;
We knew there'd be sport before Dutchmen would strike,
We'd the day all before us, and work that we like;
We were all in a crowd, but 'twas pleasant to know
We couldn't go wrong if we went at the foe.
Up ran Duncan's signal: ‘Close action,’ it flew,
And we cheered, for what that meant we very well knew;
We knew we went in to win fame and renown
For England and Duncan at famed Camperdown.

'Twas something the roar of their broadsides to hear
As we and our van ships closed up with their rear;
Through their line drove the Monarch, five minutes ahead,
The starboard ships leading, the larboard we led.
For De Winter we made, but before that we got
At him, their States-General would have it hot.
With what we gave to her she soon was content;
She sheered off and then at the Vryheid we went;
Then we found what they were as we fought gun to gun,
Little thought had our Dutchmen to strike or to run.
When their Mars and their Brutus and Leyden pressed round,
Quite enough to amuse us, I swear, men, we found.
It cost us, boys, something to win us renown
And a Peerage for Duncan at famed Camperdown.

Of the fun we were something beginning to tire
When the Ardent and Triumph took off half their fire;
And we didn't object when the Powerful came,
Greedy, with us, to take a full share of the game;
Mauled and bloody from fight in the midst of their four,
Hauling off, on the starboard tack, round then we wore;
But a broadside to give them we still could afford,
And down came their Admiral's masts by the board.
Riddled through and with all her three masts shot away,
With her starboard guns fouled, all disabled she lay;
With no bark or bite left her, the Vryheid might sulk;
What more could she do—a mere log of a hulk?
She was ours and she struck, but she shared our renown,
For she fought as we fought when we won Camperdown.

When De Winter gave in, they threw up the game quite;
When his colours came down, they had done with the fight;
We'd fought through thick weather, but, now we had won,
It cleared, just to let us see what we had done.
Now the drizzle was gone, we could count up our luck;
For nine of their line and two frigates had struck;
Their van ships, right in with the land, were in view;
But, in nine fathom water, what more could we do?
'Twas well to make sure of the prizes we'd got;
For they and we too had our full share of shot.
Before nightfall 'twas best to be well off the shore,
So we towed off our Dutchmen, full sail, for the Nore;
And you'll say 'twas a day that might well give renown
To us and to Duncan who won Camperdown.