Bold Carter (Trad arranged Anahata & Amos)


This song was collected by Vaughn Williams from Mr Whitby, the Sexton ofTilney-All-Saints near Kings Lynn Norfolk.

It is a variant of Polly on the Shore and various versions have been
collected around England and Ireland.

They have all evolved from a song published in Ireland in 1744 in the
Irish Boys Garland.


Chris Amos: Guitar & Vocals


Anahata: Anglo Concertina


Come all you wild young men,
And a warning take by me
Never you lead your life astray
Unto bad company.

Bold Carter is my name,
And hard is my intent;
Till I got pressed by a press merchant,
And on board a man of war got sent.

We'd not been sailing long,
'fore the first thing that we spied,
It was five French men came sailing to down,
And at length they were going to draw nigh.

We hoisted our main colours,
Our bloody bloody flag we let fly,
Let every man stand to his gun,
For the Lord knows the day we must die.

Our captain got wounded most wonderfully sore,
And so did most of his men;
Our main mast rigging got all shot away,
So at length we were forced to give in.

Our decks were all splattered with blood,
So loud did the great guns roar;
I wished myself back home again
With my Polly that I left upon the shore.

She's a tall and a handsome girl,
She's a dark and a rolling eye;
And here upon the deck where I lay shot,
For her sweet sake I must die.

Here's adieu to my father and mother,
And my friends and relations, too,
I never would have crossed the salt seas so wide
If I had been ruled by you.