The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #123706 Message #2726381
Posted By: Q (Frank Staplin)
18-Sep-09 - 07:51 PM
Thread Name: Lyr Add: The Pirate of the Isles
Subject: Lyr Add: PIRATE OF THE ISLES
Lyr. Add: PIRATE OF THE ISLES
Anon. c. 1860
A hearty band I do command,
Of Pirates bold and free,
My law is my own, my ship is my throne,
My kingdon is on the sea;
My flag is red, at the royal mast head,
On all my foes I smile,
No quarter show where'er I go
But the prize we soon will take in tow.
Chorus:
My men are tried, my bark is my pride,
My men are tried, my bark is my pride,
For I'm the pirate of the Isles,
I'm the pirate, I'm the pirate,
I'm the pirate of the Isles.
2
We luff a sail in a pleasant gale,
O'er the dark and bounding sea;
With a prize in view, we will heave her too,
And we'll haul her under our lea; [lee]
We'll give three cheers, then homeward steer,
While fortune on us smiles,
None came across that famed La Ross,
But to him they had to strike their course.
3
Ye Princely sons of Spanish Dons,
With zeal and ardour burn,
Came o'er the sea, to conquer me,
But back have never returned;
Proud England too, doth me pursue,
At all her threats I smile,
Her men I've slain, her ships detain,
Burnt and sunk them on the main.
4
There heaves in sight a ship of might,
She is a Yankee Seventy-Four,
She stops her course and hails La Ross,
And a broadside she does pour;
The Pirate soon returns the boon,
While proudly doth he smile,
When a fatal ball caused him to fall,
And loudly for quarter his men did call.
Chorus 2:
In the briny deep, he is lain to sleep,
In the briny deep, he is lain to sleep,
Once the pirate of the Isles,
Once the pirate of the Isles,
Once the pirate, once the pirate,
Once the pirate of the Isles.
H. De Marsan, Publishers, NY.
This pirate song might be modified for children.
In a website about Mary of the Wild Moor, it is noted that Henry Mayhew talked with the composer (unnamed) who composed song sheets for a shilling or so. This song sheet writer (English) also wrote "Husband's Dream" (not found), and "Demon of the Sea," which I will post later.
Like a number of these song sheets, they were distributed and copied on both sides of the ocean.