Arrr! Pirates and Sea Shanties

FULL PROGRAM TEXT

The Wellerman               Traditional Sea Shanty, arr. Martin Schröder

There once was a ship that put to seaThe name of the ship was the Billy O' TeaThe winds blew up, her bow dipped downOh blow, my bully boys, blow (huh)

Refrain

Soon may the Wellerman comeTo bring us sugar and tea and rumOne day, when the tonguing is doneWe'll take our leave and go

She'd not been two weeks from shoreWhen down on her a right whale boreThe captain called all hands and sworeHe'd take that whale in tow (huh)

Refrain

Before the boat had hit the waterThe whale's tail came up and caught herAll hands to the side, harpooned and fought herWhen she dived down low (huh)

Refrain

No line was cut, no whale was freedAn’ the captain's mind was not of greedBut he belonged to the Whaleman's creedShe took that ship in tow (huh)

Refrain

For forty days or even more The line went slack then tight once moreAll boats were lost, there were only fourBut still that whale did go (huh)

Refrain

As far as I've heard, the fight's still onThe line's not cut, and the whale's not goneThe Wellerman makes his regular callTo encourage the captain, crew and all (huh)

Refrain

---

All for Me Grog              Traditional Sea Shanty, arr. Stephen Hatfield

Chorus: All for me grog, me jolly jolly grog,All for me grog an’ tabacca!For I spent all me store with the lassies on the shore,And it’s all for me grog an’ tabacca!

When I come home then my sweetheart I shall see.

All for me grog an’ tabacca!

An’ my sweetheart’ll sing when she sees the wedding ring.

And it’s all for me grog an’ tabacca!

Chorus

When there’s a wee one to dangle on her knee,

All for me grog an’ tabacca!She can sing him to sleep while her man is off to sea!

And it’s all for me grog an’ tabacca!

Chorus

When he’s a man then a sailor he shall be.

All for me grog an’ tabacca!With his pipe and his can like a proper sailor man,

And it’s all for me grog an’ tabacca!

Chorus

---

Holy Ground                                      Traditional Irish, arr. Mark Sirett

Fare the well me lovely darling

A thousand times adieu

We are saying goodbye to the Holy Ground

And the girls we all love true.

We will sail the salt seas o’er

And then return to shore

And still I live in hopes to see

the Holy Ground once more.

And now the storm is coming:

I see it rising soon

For the night is dark and dreary,

You can scarcely see the moon,

And the good old ship, she is tossing about

And the riggings they are torn.

But still I live in hopes to see

the Holy Ground once more.

And we’ll go into a public house

to the girls we do adore.

And we’ll drink strong ale and porter,

and we’ll make the rafters roar.

And when our money is all spent,

we’ll go to sea once more.

---

Hunker Down                                                                    Tobin Stokes

No you won’t be leavin’ on the sea tonight,

there are whitecaps comin’ an’ it don’t feel right.

All the tugs are tyin’ up their booms below

to the buoys down Marine in a long neat row.

Well the noon boat left for good today,

and the other one is broke down in Salt’ry Bay.

Hangin’ over Forbidden is a darknin’ sky,

so you can’t take the plane ‘cuz it ain’t gonna fly.

Chorus: Hunker down for the evening,

shut your doors and windows tight,

there’s a Southeastern comin’,

hunker down for the night.

Well there ain’t no road you can drive away

and besides you’d be lost if you drove all day,

so there ain’t no trail ‘cuz you’d break your back

and there ain’t no train ‘cuz there ain’t no track.

If your boat’s in the harbour then you’d better go

check that the ropes are tight, or you’ll own a wreck.

If your kids are playin’ down at Grief Point Park,

motor down to keep warm, pick ‘em up, get ‘em home before dark.

Chorus

If the firs are swayin’ and they’re lookin’ to break,

better pray if you got a cabin up the lake,

If the crows stop flyin’ and the gulls sit still

then the hulks’ll get a poundin’ down in front of the mill.

Well there hasn’t been a blast since two today,

Not a sound from Vananda up to Blubber Bay,

so forget it if you’re hopin’ to get out o’ this town,

Better maker your final meal before the power’s down.

Chorus

---

Ode to the Fishermen                                                        John Gracie,

                                              arr. Donna Rhodenizer and Andy Duinker

Go down to the sea, you’ll see them there

on every rock and wave.

The hardy souls of hardy men,

no tombstones mark their graves.

And musty eyes say mighty words,

to this I can attest.

No soul of sea and sailing way

Round yet a better rest

From wind and water where we stand,

let no man know the way

the howl of wind and wash of surf

have kept me far from bay.

So whistle wind, sea heave and roar,

this man shall sail no more.

The ghosts of rowdy fishermen

lie docile on your shore.

Go down to the sea, you’ll see them there

on every rock and wave.

The hardy souls of hardy men,

no tombstones mark their graves.

And musty eyes say mighty words,

to this I can attest.

No soul of sea and sailing way

Round yet a better rest

---

Away from the Roll of the Sea  Allister MacGillivray, arr. Diane Loomer

Small craft in a harbour that’s still and serene,

Give no indication what their ways have been;

They rock at their moorings all nestled in dreams,

Away from the roll of the sea.

Their stern lines are groaning a lullaby air,

A ghost in the cuddy, a gull on the spar;

But never they whisper of journeys afar,

Away from the roll of the sea.

Oh, had they the tongues for to speak,

What tales of adventure they’d weave;

But now they are anchored to sleep,

And slumber alee.

Come fair winds to wake them tomorrow, we pray,

Come harvest a-plenty to them ev’ry day;

Till guided by harbour lights they’re home to stay,

Away from the roll of the sea. 

---

The Ballad of Anne Bonny                                              Donald Dilley

Watch out lads guard your heart,

Hey watch out lads’ e’er you start;

just watch out lads guard your heart,

beware of Anne Bonny!

Come hear the story of a pirate queen,

“her Majesty” of the Caribbean Sea.

She would fight with the men and dress the part,

Put fear in the darkest pirate’s heart.

Born to a rogue and his servant girl,

disguised as a boy to survive in the world;

from the time when the men ruled land and sea

came the cold black heart of Anne Bonny.

Chorus: Watch out lads, ye best beware

of her em’rald eyes and her fiery hair;

if ye be wise then listen to me

don’t lose your heart to Anne Bonny.

As a child she felt neither guilt nor shame

and if anyone dared to sully her name,

they would soon find out that a silent tongue

is better by far than having none.

A sailor tried to have his way

with this fair colleen but to his dismay

she was quicker than the lad and twice as smart,

with a flash of a blade she stole his heart.

Chorus

She tried her hand as a sailor’s wife,

but her keen heart yearned for an adventurous life

so she joined the pirates of the seven seas

and broke the heart of James Bonny.

She sailed with a pirate named Calico jack,

a sword by her side and a pistol in her sash.

With a murderous gang and s ship that was true,

they plundered and pillaged like the devil’s own crew.

Chorus

They were caught one day, so the story’s told,

while Jack and his men were drunk in the hold,

though she fought with fury to defend her crown,

Anne Bonny’s reign came crashing down.

Calico Jack was tried one morn

while Anne looked on with contempt and scorn

“Die like the dog you are” said she

and his heart stopped cold on the hangman’s tree.

Chorus

---

The Pirate Song                                                                 Tim Y. Jones

A pirate sang a song to me.

He sang of life upon the sea.

He sang to me with gravelled tones.

He sang to me of Billy Bones.

Pirates make me happy.

A pirate sang a song to me.

He had no leg below his knee.

He sang the song the best he could.

His tongue was also made of wood.

For romance, find a pirate.

Arrr! Arrr! Arrr!

My pirate comes from Tripoli.

My pirate curses saltily!

My pirate is not snooty.

My pirate shakes his booty.

My pirate  swabs the deck like no one else can swab the deck.

A pirate sang a song to me.

His face was kind of barnacley.

He told me that my parrot stank.

And so I made him walk the plank.

Arrr!

---

Northwest Passage                                 Stan Rogers, arr. Ian Loeppky

Chorus: Ah, for just one timeI

would take the Northwest Passage

To find the hand of Franklin

Reaching for the Beaufort Sea

Tracing one warm line

Through a land so wild and savage

And make a Northwest Passage to the sea

Westward from the Davis Strait

'Tis there 'twas said to lie

The sea route to the Orient

For which so many died

Seeking gold and glory,

Leaving weathered, broken bones

And a long-forgotten lonely cairn of stones

ChorusThree centuries thereafterI

take passage overland

In the footsteps of brave Kelso

Where his "sea of flowers" began

Watching cities rise before me

Then behind me sink again

This tardiest explorer

Driving hard across the plain

ChorusAnd through the night, behind the wheel

The mileage clicking westI think upon

Mackenzie,David Thompson and the rest

Who cracked the mountain ramparts

And did show a path for me

To race the roaring Fraser to the sea

ChorusHow then am I so different

From the first men through this way?

Like them, I left a settled lifeI threw it all away

To seek a Northwest Passage

At the call of many men

To find there but the road back home again

Chorus

---

The Last Saskatchewan Pirate                          The Arrogant Worms, arr. Byron Hermann

I used to be a farmer, and I made a living fine

I had a little stretch of land along the CP line

But times went by and though I tried, the money wasn't there

And the bankers came and took my land and told me, "Fair is fair"

I looked for every kind of job, the answer always "no"

"Hire you now?" they'd always laugh, "We just let 20 go"

The government, they promised me a measly little sum

But I've got too much pride to end up just another bum

Then I thought, "Who gives a damn if all the jobs are gone?"

I'm gonna be a pirate on the river Saskatchewan

Chorus: 'Cause it's a heave-ho, hi-ho, comin' down the plains

Stealin' wheat and barley and all the other grains

It's a ho-hey, hi-hey, farmers bar yer doors

When you see the Jolly Roger on Regina's mighty shores

Arr! (Arr, arr)

Well, you'd think the local farmers would know that I'm at large

But just the other day, I found an unprotected barge

I snuck up right behind them, and they were none the wiser

I rammed their ship and sank it, and I stole their fertilizer

A bridge outside of Moose Jaw spans a mighty river

Farmers cross in so much fear, their stomachs are a-quiver

'Cause they know that Tractor Jack is hidin' in the bay

I'll jump the bridge and knock them cold, and sail off with their hay

Chorus

Well, Mountie Bob, he chased me, he was always at my throat

He'd follow on the shoreline, but he didn't own a boat

But cutbacks were a-coming and the Mountie lost his job

So now he's sailing with me, and we call him Salty Bob

A swingin' sword, a skull and bones and pleasant company

I never pay my income tax, and screw the GST (screw it!)

Sailin’ down to Saskatoon, I'm the terror of the sea

If you wanna reach the co-op, boy, you gotta get by me

Chorus

Well, pirate life's appealing, but you just don't find it here

I've heard that in Alberta, there's a band of buccaneers

They roam the Athabaska from Smith to Fort McKay

And you're gonna lose your Stetson if you have to pass their way.

Well, winter is a-comin' and a chill is in the breeze

My pirate days are over once the river starts to freeze

I'll be back in springtime, but now I have to go

I hear there's lots of plunderin' over in Peggy’s Cove!

Chorus

---

The Buccaneer Song               Fred Tomlinson, Michael Palin,

with apologies to Monty Python and Terrance Jones

arr. Christopher Alexander

                                                            additional text by Richard Gooch

I’m a Buccaneer and I’m okayI sleep all night, and I work all day.

I crack some skulls, I count my spoils, I go to the lavat’ry.

On Wednesdays I go swimming and have buttered scones for tea.

He cracks some skulls, he counts his spoils, he goes to the lavat’ry.

On Wednesdays he goes swimming and has buttered scones for tea.

He’s a Buccaneer and he’s okay.

He sleeps all night, and he works all day

.

I crack some skulls, I skip and jump, I like to press wild flowers.

I put on wenches’ clothing and hang around in bars.

He cracks some skulls, he skips and jumps, he likes to press wild flowers.     

He puts on wenches’ clothing (and hangs around in bars?)

He’s a Buccaneer and he’s okay.     

He sleeps all night, and he works all day.

I crack some skulls, I wear high heels, suspenders and a bra.

I wish I’d been a girlie just like my dear Papa!

He cracks some skulls, he wears (high heels, suspenders and a bra?)

Solo: I wish I’d been a girlie just like my dear Papa!

He’s a Buccaneer and he’s okay-ay.     

He sleeps all night, and he works all day.

---

With Cat-like Tread                        W. S. Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan

Pirates: With cat-like tread,

Upon our prey we steal;

In silence dread,

Our cautious way we feel.

No sound at all,

We never speak a word,

A fly’s foot-fall

Would be distinctly heard

Police: Tarantara, Tarantara!

Pirates: So stealthily the pirate creeps

While all the household soundly sleeps.

Pirates: Come friends, who plough the sea, Truce to navigation; Take another station; Let’s vary piracee With a little bruglaree! Come friends, who plough the sea, Truce to navigation; Take another station; Let’s vary piracee With a little burglaree!

Police: Police: Ra, ra, ra, ra, ra, ra, ra, Ra,ra,ra,ra Ra,ra,ra,ra Ra, ra, ra, ra, ra, ra, ra, Ra,ra,ra,ra Ra, ra, ra, ra, ra, ra, ra, Ra,ra,ra,ra Ra,ra,ra,ra Ra, ra, ra, ra, ra, ra, ra, Tarantara, ra, ra!

Samuel: Here’s your crowbar and your centrebit

Your life-preserver – you may want to hit!

Your silent matches, your dark lantern seize.

Take your file and your skeletonic keys.

Pirates: With cat-like tread, etc. Come friends, etc.

Police: Police: Ra, ra, ra, ra, ra, ra, ra, Ra,ra,ra,ra

---

The Stars Are with the Voyager                                    Eleanor Daley

The stars are with the voyager

Wherever he may sail;

The moon is constant to her time;

The sun will never fail;

But follow, follow round the world,

The green earth and the sea;

So love is with the lover's heart,

Wherever he may be.

Wherever he may be, the stars

Must daily lose their light;

The moon will veil her in the shade;

The sun will set at night.

The sun may set, but constant love

Will shine when he's away;

So that dull night is never night,

And day is brighter day.

---

Fogarty’s Cove                                          Stan Rogers, arr. Ron Smail

We just lost sight of the Queensport light

Down the bay before us

And the wind has blown some cold today

With just a wee touch of snowAlong the shore from Lazy Head

Hard abeam Half IslandTonight we'll let the anchor go

Down in Fogarty's Cove

My Sally's like the ravens wing

Her hair is like her mother's

With hands that make quick work of a chore

And eyes like the top of a stove

Come suppertime she'll walk the beach

Wrapped in my old duffle

With her eyes upon the masthead reach

Down in Fogarty's Cove

ChorusShe will walk the sandy shore so plain

Watch the comber's roll in

'Til I come to Wild Rose Chance again

Down in Fogarty's Cove

She will walk the sandy shore so plain

Watch the comber's roll in

'Til I come to Wild Rose Chance again

Down in Fogarty's Cove

She cries when I'm away to sea

Nags me when I'm with her

She'd rather I'd a government job

Or maybe go on the dole

But I love the waves as I pull about

Nose into the channel

My Sally keeps the supper and a bed for me

Down in Fogarty's Cove

ChorusShe will walk the sandy shore so plain

Watch the comber's roll in

'Til I come to Wild Rose Chance again

Down in Fogarty's Cove

She will walk the sandy shore so plain

Watch the comber's roll in

'Til I come to Wild Rose Chance again

Down in Fogarty's Cove

---

Fifteen Men on a Dead Man’s Chest          R. L. Stevenson, Young E. Allison, Henry Walter

arr. Roger Wagner, Martin Schröder

Fifteen men on a dead man's chest

Yo ho ho and a bottle of rum

Drink and the devil had done for the rest

Yo ho ho and a bottle of rum.

The mate was fixed by the bosun's pike

The bosun brained with a marlinspike

And cookey's throat was marked belike

It had been gripped by fingers ten;

And there they lay, all good dead men

Like break o'day in a boozing ken

Yo ho ho and a bottle of rum.

Fifteen men of the whole ship's list

Yo ho ho and a bottle of rum!

Dead and be damned and the rest gone whist!

Yo ho ho and a bottle of rum!

The skipper lay with his nob in gore

Where the scullion's axe his cheek had shore

And the scullion he was stabbed times four

And there they lay, and the soggy skies

Dripped down in up-staring eyes

In murk sunset and foul sunrise

Yo ho ho and a bottle of rum.

Fifteen men of 'em stiff and stark

Yo ho ho and a bottle of rum!

Ten of the crew had the murder mark!

Yo ho ho and a bottle of rum!

Twas a cutlass swipe or an ounce of lead

Or a yawing hole in a battered head

And the scuppers' glut with a rotting red

And there they lay, aye, damn my eyes

Looking up at paradise

All souls bound just contrawise

Yo ho ho and a bottle of rum.

Fifteen men of 'em good and true

Yo ho ho and a bottle of rum!

Ev'ry man jack could ha' sailed with Old Pew,

Yo ho ho and a bottle of rum!

There was chest on chest of Spanish gold

With a ton of plate in the middle hold

And the cabins riot of stuff untold,

And they lay there that took the plum

With sightless glare and their lips struck dumb

While we shared all by the rule of thumb,

Yo ho ho and a bottle of rum!

Fifteen men on a dead man's chest

Yo ho ho and a bottle of rum

Drink and the devil had done for the rest

Yo ho ho and a bottle of rum.

We wrapped 'em all in a mains'l tight

With twice ten turns of a hawser's bight

And we heaved 'em over and out of sight,

With a Yo-Heave-Ho! and a fare-you-well

And a sudden plunge in the sullen swell

Ten fathoms deep on the road to hell,

Yo ho ho and a bottle of rum!

---

Frobisher Bay                                  James Gordon, arr. Linda Beaupre

ChorusCold is the Artic seaFar are your arms from meLong will this Winter beFrozen in Frobisher BayFrozen in Frobisher BayOne more whale our Captain criedOne more whale then we'll beat the iceBut the Winter star was in the skyThe seas were rough, the winds were highChorus

Deep were the crashing wavesThat tore our whaler's mast awayDark are these sunless daysWaiting for the ice to break

Chorus

Strange is the whaler's fateTo be saved from the raging wavesOnly to waste awayFrozen in this lonely grave

Chorus

---

What Shall We Do with a Drunken Sailor  English Sea Shanty

arr. Alice Parker and Robert Shaw

What shall we do with the drunken sailor?

What shall we do with the drunken sailor?

What shall we do with the drunken sailor?

Early in the mornin'

Chorus

Way hay and up she rises

Way hay and up she rises

Way hay and up she rises

Early in the mornin'

Put him in a long boat 'til he's sober

Put him in a long boat 'til he's sober

Put him in a long boat 'til he's sober

Early in the mornin'

Chorus

Pull out the plug and wet him all over

Pull out the plug and wet him all over,

Pull out the plug and wet him all over,

Chorus

Stick him in the scuppers with a hosepipe on him

Stick him in the scuppers with a hosepipe on him

Stick him in the scuppers with a hosepipe on him

Early in the mornin'

Chorus

What shall we do with the drunken sailor?

What shall we do with the drunken sailor?

What shall we do with the drunken sailor?

Early in the mornin'

Chorus

Heave him by the leg with a runnin’ bowlin’

Heave him by the leg with a runnin’ bowlin’

Heave him by the leg with a runnin’ bowlin’

Early in the mornin'

Chorus

---

Shipyard Shanty                              Robbie Smith, arr. Chris Bowman

Lay another plank down boys,

sing a shipyard shanty everyone.

Lay another plank down boys,

we’ll be tastin’ the rum when she’s done,

when her seafaring life’s begun.

We’ve been bending our backs all through the winter,

cutting the spruce, the oak and the fir.

She has to be made of the finest timber

and twice as long as the other ones were.

She’s a handsome schooner sound and sturdy

built to rival the Marblehead line.

Pick up the pace for the sun sets early

and there’s extra pay if she’s finished on time.

Lay another plank down boys,

sing a shipyard shanty everyone.

Lay another plank down boys,

she'll soon be ready for the springtime run.

It’s been nigh on a year since first we started

and many long days since we bolted the keel.

It’s hard to believe we’ll soon be parted

when the captain comes to take hold of the wheel.

But we’ll stand and watch the outline fading

into the mist at the mouth of the bay.

Roundin’ the cape and ridin’ the trade winds,

Gatherin' speed as she sails away.

Lay another plank down boys,

As a merchant vessel she’ll be second to none.

Lay another plank down boys,

it’s time for the last inspection.

Lay another plank down boys,

she'll be launched tomorrow with the rising sun.

We’ll turn the capstan crank round boys,

and we’ll give her soul to the ocean.

We’ve watched her grow from a stack of lumber,

We’ve given her strength and we’ve given her form.

I pray she’ll not be torn asunder

out on a reef in the teeth of a storm.

No she’ll do us proud taking the breakers,

skirting the shoals through the billowing spray.

Paying respect to her shorebound makers

Long after we’ve all passed away.

Lay another plank down boys,

sing a shipyard shanty everyone.

Lay another plank down boys,

we’ll be tastin’ the rum when she’s done,

when her seafaring life’s begun.