 | Songs of the sea and lays of the land |  |
59
BOLD ROBIN ROVER
Bold Robin Rover
Said to his crew:
“Up with the black flag
And down with the blue!
Up with the Black Boy!
All men to show,
Over the water
And off let us go!”
Said to his crew:
“Up with the black flag
And down with the blue!
Up with the Black Boy!
All men to show,
Over the water
And off let us go!”
A man-of-war he hailed us:
“Come under my lee!”
“See you damned,” said the pirate,
“For I'd rather sink at sea,
In the blue water
Far out and free,
Cruising down on the shore
By the coast of Barbary.”
“Come under my lee!”
“See you damned,” said the pirate,
“For I'd rather sink at sea,
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Far out and free,
Cruising down on the shore
By the coast of Barbary.”
We met the Flying Dutchman,
By midnight he came,
His hull was all of hell fire,
His sails were all o' flame;
Fire on the main-top,
Fire on the bow,
Fire on the gun-deck,
Fire down below!
By midnight he came,
His hull was all of hell fire,
His sails were all o' flame;
Fire on the main-top,
Fire on the bow,
Fire on the gun-deck,
Fire down below!
Four-and-twenty dead men,
Those were the crew,
The devil on the bowsprit
Fiddled as she flew.
We gave her a broadside
Right in the dip,
Just like a candle,
Out went the ship.
Those were the crew,
The devil on the bowsprit
Fiddled as she flew.
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Right in the dip,
Just like a candle,
Out went the ship.
We met a gallant vessel
A-sailing on the sea,
For mercy, for mercy,
For mercy, she did plea;
But the mercy we gave her
We sunk her in the sea;
Cruising down on the shore
By the coast of Barbary,
A-sailing on the sea,
For mercy, for mercy,
For mercy, she did plea;
But the mercy we gave her
We sunk her in the sea;
Cruising down on the shore
By the coast of Barbary,
Four-and-twenty Spaniards,
Mighty men of rank,
With their golden ladies
Had to walk the plank,
Over the gunwale
Into the sea,
Cruising down on the shore,
By the coast of Barbary.
Mighty men of rank,
With their golden ladies
Had to walk the plank,
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Into the sea,
Cruising down on the shore,
By the coast of Barbary.
Oh devil take the captain!
And devil take the ship!
And devil take the cargo!
And devil take the trip!
And devil take the bo'su'n!
And devil take his call!
And devil take the doctor!
And devil take 'em all!
And devil take the ship!
And devil take the cargo!
And devil take the trip!
And devil take the bo'su'n!
And devil take his call!
And devil take the doctor!
And devil take 'em all!
Over the quarter,
Over the sail,
Into the water,
Dead as a nail
Slung like a biscuit,
Hot as a coal,
Where the sharks may take the body,
And the devil take the soul!
Over the sail,
Into the water,
Dead as a nail
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Hot as a coal,
Where the sharks may take the body,
And the devil take the soul!
Then spoke Grim Sam of Jersey, “As we've heard
A mermaid or a witch is the same bird,
But of a different feather, so a pirate,
And slaver, is all one for guards to fire at,
For pirates kill and plunder all they catch,
And slavers at the same are just their match;
There ain't no special difference (it was said
That Sam himself well knew the Guinea trade,
And half-way to the devil had sent his soul
By running into Cuba “sacks of coal”)—
And then he sang to us right merrily
A slaver's song, which was not writ by me.
A mermaid or a witch is the same bird,
But of a different feather, so a pirate,
And slaver, is all one for guards to fire at,
For pirates kill and plunder all they catch,
And slavers at the same are just their match;
There ain't no special difference (it was said
That Sam himself well knew the Guinea trade,
And half-way to the devil had sent his soul
By running into Cuba “sacks of coal”)—
And then he sang to us right merrily
A slaver's song, which was not writ by me.
| Songs of the sea and lays of the land | |