THE GHOSTLY SHIP
David HB Drake / © September 6, 1989
(A cappella)
When you're standing watch on a foggy night
The hour is late and there's no moonlight
When the rum is warm and the air is cold
It makes you dream of the ships of old...
Then the Dutchman goes a-sailing.
Well you hear a creak and you hear a groan
And you strain your eyes looking o'er the foam
Then there comes a ship from across the wave
Sent from Hell and a salty grave
And the Dutchman goes a-sailing.
She's an old square-rig running up ahead
With her sails full blown and they look blood-red
Her blackened spars fill your heart with dread
The ship's a ghost with a crew so dead
When the Dutchman goes a-sailing.
Then you swear to the stars that your eyes can lie
For the ship she hoves up into the sky
And her skeleton crew gives an erie cry
That shivers your soul as she passes by
When the Dutchman goes a-sailing.
Run to the Captain, run to the Mate
To tell of the sight and the tale relate
Of the ship that flies and her ghostly crew
And the pirate shades calling after you
When the Dutchman goes a-sailing.
Then the Captain speaks in a solemn tone
"Aye, there's such a ship with the blackened bones...
A crew from Hell and her sails of flame,
The Flying Dutchman it is her name!"
When the Dutchman goes a-sailing.
"Did you see her, lad, on this foggy night?
Did she call to you, did you have a fright?
Did she run full-sail, but against the wind,
Or is this be a tale made of Rum and Gin?"
When the Dutchman goes a-sailing.
"For if it be Rum, you're a drunken sot,
And if it be Gin, then you lie a lot!
But if it be true, to God pray thee,
For we're the next to be lost at sea."
When the Dutchman goes a-sailing.
REPEAT VERSE 1
The song appears on David's album Fisherman's Beach. You can download the whole album, or individual tracks from CDBaby at
http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/dhbdrake5
The lyrics are at:
http://www.davidhbdrake.com/word/Fisherman's%20Beach.doc
Hope this helps - It's a cracking song - goes very well when accompanied on a G/D concertina.
John
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sj