You may have missed this new Mudcat collaborative ballad inspired by a recent news story entitled "Methane Sinks Ships":

Words by Charlie Ipcar, Norris Dale and Mudcat Guest "Unwitting Muse", 2003

Tune: traditional "White Cockade"

THE BLOW AT WITCH'S HOLE


As we set out one evening, upon the Northern Sea,
Headed out a-fishing for to earn our daily fee;
Headed out to fish, me lads, we set our course so bold,
When our ship was (when our ship was),
When our ship was (when our ship was),
Overwhelmed, dragged down the Witch's Hole!

Our charts were fully up-to-date, so thought our Captain Brock,
Avoiding every hazard, every shoal and rock,
Yes, every shoal and rock, me lads, upon the Northern Sea;
And we cours-ed (and we cours-ed),
And we cours-ed (and we cours-ed,
By the Witch's Hole, that lay athwart our lee.

No rogue wave swept o'er us, no squid nor octopus,
No giant whirlpool sucked us down, we had no time to fuss;
There was no time to fuss, me lads, as we sank beneath the waves,
But we all stood (yes, we all stood),
But we all stood (yes, we all stood),
Resolutely, so valiant and so brave.

A silent threat but deadly, that methane from the Hole,
Rising from the gassy depths, amidst the dark and cold,
Amidst the dark and cold, me lads, like some monster from the deep;
And it dragged us (yes, it dragged us),
And it dragged us (yes, it dragged us),
To the Witch's Hole, forever there to sleep.

"It's suffocate or evacuate!" we heard our captain cry,
As he pulled out a handkerchief to wipe his tearing eyes;
As he pulled out a handkerchief, and held it to his nose,
"We will never (no, we'll never),
We will never (no, we'll never),
Rise again from our odorous repose."

This was no bathtub bubble or some silly fish's farce,
But a blast of great proportion from the earth's own mighty arse,
From the earth's own mighty arse, me lads, the methane did arise;
And the water, (yes, the water),
And the water, (yes, the water),
Lost its density, and thus proved our demise.

I was the sole survivor, me messmates drowned that day,
The Coast Guard came a-racing up and snatched me from the wave,
They snatched me from the wave, me lads, and saved me sorry skin,
And I surely (yes, I surely),
And I surely (yes, I surely),
Would have drowned if I hadn't broken wind!

I'm sure you'll agree that this ballad needs to be released to a wider audience.

Cheerily,
Charley Noble