8 recordings of Captain Ward:

Captain Ward
Roy Harris, Round Cape Horn, recorded 1974, in Topic TSCD499, 1998, first published in the LP Champions of Folly, Folk Songs & Ballads sung by Roy Harris, Topic 12TS256, 1975

Come all ye valiant seamen bold
With courage beat your drum
I'll tell you of a rover
That over the seas is come

His name it is bold Captain Ward
So quickly you shall hear
For such a rover there has not been
Or seen for many a year

On February the 7th day
A ship sailed from the West
With silks and satins loaded
And a cargo of the best

Till they met bold Captain Ward
Upon the watery main
He took from her the wealth and store
Then sent her back again

He wrote a letter to the Queen
On the fourteenth of July
To know of her if he might come
With all his company

To know of her if he might come
All England to behold
And for his pardon he would give
Five hundred pound of gold

Now, the Queen she got a ship built
A ship of noble fame
She was called The Rainbow,
You may have heard the name

She was called The Rainbow
And in the seas went she
With full five hundred seamen
To bear her company

Now when The Rainbow came on to
The place where Ward he did lay:
Where is the Admiral of your ship? -
The captain he did say

I'm here, I'm here, cried Captain Ward
My name I'll not deny
For if you are one of the Queen's ships,
You are welcome to pass by

Oh no, says gallant Rainbow
It grieves our Queen full sore
That her rich merchant ships can't pass
As they had done afore

Come on, come on, cried salt-sea Ward
I value you not a pin
For if you got brass for an outward show
Well I got steel within!

Oh, then the gallant Rainbow
She fired, she fired in vain
Till six and thirty of the men
All on the deck lay slain

Fight on, fight on, says salt-sea Ward
Your style so pleases me
I'll fight you for a month or two
For your master I must be

At eight o' clock in the morning
That bloody fight begun
It lasted till the evening
To the setting of the sun

Go home, go home, cried captain Ward
And tell your Queen from me
If she rules Queen upon dry land
I'll rule King over the sea



Captain Ward
The Tannahill Weavers, Capernaum, Green Linnet GLCD 1146, 1994

Come all ye jolly mariners
That love to tak' a dram
I'll tell you of a robber
That o'er the sea did come

He wrote a letter to the king
On the eleventh o' July
To see if he wad accept o' him
For his jovial company

Na, na, says the king,
Oh that can never be,
They tell me you're a robber,
A robber on the sea.

He has built a bonnie ship
An' sent her to the sea
Wi' fower an' twenty mariners
To man his bonnie ship wi'

An' they sailed up an' they sailed doon
Sae stately, blythe an' free
Till they spied the king's high Reindeer
Like a leviathan on the sea.

Is it you there, ye tinker,
Ye silly coordly thief?
Why lie you there, ye tinker,
An' hold oor king in grief?

They fought from one in the morning
Till it was six at night
Until the king's high Reindeer
Was forced to tak' her flight

Gae hame, gae hame, ye tinkers!
Gae tell your king fae me:
Though he reign king upon good dry land,
I will reign king upon sea!

Come all ye jolly mariners
That love to tak' a dram
I'll tell you of a robber
That o'er the sea did come

He wrote a letter to the king
On the eleventh o' July
To see if he wad accept o' him
For his jovial company

Na, na, says the king,
Oh that can never be,
They tell me you're a robber,
A robber on the sea.

He has built a bonnie ship
An' sent her to the sea
Wi' fower an' twenty mariners
To man his bonnie ship wi'



Captain Ward and the Rainbow
Ewan MacColl, The English and Scottish Popular Ballads Vol.2, F.J.Child Ballads sung by Ewan MacColl, Folkways Records FG 3510

Come all ye jolly mariners
That love to tak' a dram
I'll tell ye o' a robber
That o'er the seas did come

He wrote a letter to his king
On the eleventh o' July
To see if he would accept o' him
For his jovial company

O, no – O, no -Says the king,
Such things they canna be,
They tell me you are a robber,
A robber on the sea.

He has built a bonnie ship
And sent her to the sea
Wi' four an' twenty mariners
To guard his bonnie ship wi'

They sailed up and they sailed down
Sae stately, blythe and free
Till they spied the king's High Reindeer
Like a leviathon on the sea.

Why lie ye here, ye tinker?
Ye silly coordly thief
Why lie ye here, ye tinker,
And hold our king in grief?

They fought from one in the morning
Till it was six at night
Until the king's High Reindeer
Was forced to tak' her flight

Gang hame, gang hame, ye tinkers
Tell ye your king fae me:
Though he be king upon good dry land,
I will reign king upon the sea



Captain Ward and the Rainbow
Ewan MacColl, with John Faulkner, fiddle, on Ye Mariners All, The Critics Group, More Shanties and Forebitters, Argo ZDA 138, 1971

Come all ye jolly mariners
That love to tak' a dram
I'll tell ye o' a robber
That o'er the seas did come

He wrote a letter tae his king
On the eleventh o' July
To see if he would accept o' him
For his jovial company

O, no – O, no - Says the king
Such things they canna be
They tell me you are a robber
A robber on the sea

He has built a bonnie ship
And sent her tae the sea
Wi' four an' twenty mariners
To guard his bonnie ship wi'

They sailed up and they sailed doon
Sae stately, blythe and free
Till they spied the king's High Reindeer
Like a leviathon on the sea

Why lie ye here, ye tinker
Ye silly coordly thief?
Why lie ye here, ye tinker
And hold oor king in grief?

They fought frae yin in the morning
Till it was six at night
Until the king's High Reindeer
Was forced to tak' her flight

Gang hame, gang hame, ye tinkers
Tell ye your king fae me:
Though he be king upon good dry land
I will reign king on the sea



Ward the Pirate
Coope, Boyes and Simpson, Triple Echo, Songs collected by Ralph Vaughan Williams, George Butterworth and Percy Granger, No Masters Co-operative, NMCD22, 2005.


Bushes and Biars, Folk Songs collected by Ralph Vaughan Williams, edited by Roy Palmer, 1983

Come all you gallant seamen bold
All you that march to drum
Let's go and look for Captain Ward
For on the sea he roams
He is the biggest robber
That ever you did hear
There's not been such a robber
For above this hundred year

A ship was sailing from the east
And going to the west
Loaded with silks and satins
And velvets of the best
But meeting there with Captain Ward
It proved hard to maintain
He robbèd them of all their wealth
And bid them tell their king

On February's fourteenth day
He wrote unto our King
To know of him if he might come
And all his comp'ny bring
To know of him if he might come
Old England to behold
And for his pardon he would give
Five hundred tons of gold

O then the king provided
A ship of noble fame
She's called the "Royal Rainbow"
Perhaps you've heard her name
She was as well provided for
As any ship can be
Full thirteen hundred men on board
To bear her company

O then this gallant "Rainbow"
Came crossing o'er the main
Saying - "Yonder lies bold Captain Ward
And here we must remain"
"I'm here, I'm here" – cried Captain Ward
"My name I'll not deny
But if you are one of the King's fine ships
You are welcome to pass by"

"O no" – says gallant Rainbow
"It grieves our King full sore
That his rich merchant ships can't pass
As they have done before"
"Come on, come on" – cries Captain Ward
"I value you not a pin
For if you've got brass for an outward show
Then I've got steel within"

O then the gallant Rainbow
She fired, she fired in vain
Till six and thirty of her men
All on the deck was slain
"Fight on, fight on" - says Captain Ward
This sport well pleases me
For if you fight this month and more
Your master I shall be"

It was eight o'clock in the morning
When they began to fight
And so they did continue there
Till nine o'clock at night
"Go home, go home" - says Captain Ward
"And tell your king from me
If he reigns King on all the land
Ward will reign King at sea"



Ward the Pirate
Alfred Deller, Vaughan Williams, Folk Songs, Vanguard Classics 085073 71, first released 1959

Come all you gallant seamen bold
All you that march to drum
Let's go and look for Captain Ward
Far on the sea he roams
He is the biggest robber
That ever you did hear
There's not been such a robber
Found for above this hundred year

A ship was sailing from the east
And going to the west
Loaded with silks and satins
And velvets of the best
But meeting there with Captain Ward
It proved a bad meeting
He robbed them of all their wealth
And bid them tell their king

O then the king provided
A ship of noble fame
She's called the "Royal Rainbow"
If you would know her name
She was as well provided for
As any ship could be
Full thirteen hundred men on board
To bear her company

'Twas eight o'clock when they began
When they began to fight
And so they did continue
Till nine o'clock at night
"Fight on, fight on" says Captain Ward
This sport well pleases me
For if you fight this month or more
Your master I will be"

O then the gallant "Rainbow"
She fired, she fired in vain
Till six and thirty of her men
All on the deck were slain
"Go home, go home" says Captain Ward
"And tell your king for me
If he reigns king on all the land
Ward will reign king on sea"



Ward the Pirate
Peter Bellamy, Fair Annie (compilation from two original albums, Peter Bellamy & Fair Annie), Fellside FECD 187; the ballad is from Peter Belamy, first released as Green Linnet, Green Linnet, SIF 1001, 1975. From Vaughan Williams, collected in Norfolk.

Come all you gallant seamen bold
All you that march to drum
Let's go and look for Captain Ward
Far out on the sea he roams
For he is the biggest robber
That ever you did hear
There's not been such a robber found
In above this hundred year

Now a ship it was sailing from the east
And going to the west
Loaded with silks and satins
And velvets of the best
But in meeting there with Captain Ward
It was a sad meeting
For he robbed them of their wealth and store
And bid them tell their king

So it's then our king he builded
A ship of noted fame
She's call'd the Royal Rainbow
If you would know her name
And she was as well provided for
As any ship can be
With thirteen hundred men on board
To bear her company

And at eight o'clock in the morning
When they did begin to fight
And so they did continue there
Till nine o'clock at night
Fight on, fight on! - Cried Captain Ward
For this sport pleases me
But though you fight a month or more
Your master still I'll be

So it's then the Royal Rainbow, she fired
But she fired all in vain
Till six and sixty of her men
All on the decks lie slain
Go home, go home! - Cried Captain Ward
And tell your king from me:
Though he reigns king on all dry land
I'll reign king on the sea



Captain Ward and the Rainbow
Cyril Poacher, Plenty of Thyme, Musical Traditions MTCD 303; song recorded in 1974

Her name it is gallant Rainbow
You might have heard her name
With four and twenty of the king's fine ships
To drive her back again

Go ye home, go ye home - cried Captain Ward
Your galliant Rainbow sail
With four and twenty of the king's fine men
To drive her back again