[The Dolphin is on] 'A Sailor's Garland' by Ewan MacColl & A.L. Lloyd, XTRA 5013, 1966. Ewan learned 'The Dolphin' from Sam Larner, of Winterton, Norfolk, who, in turn, learned it from his shipmate, 'Old Larpin' (James Sutton). Sutton was from an earlier generation than Sam and also from Winterton.
Sam can be heard singing the song on the recording, 'Now is the Time for Fishing' collected and edited by Ewan MacColl and Peggy Seeger. This was originally issued by Folkways, in the 1960s, in the US, but Topic released a version of it in 1999 (Topic TSCD511). Ewan and Peggy's note to the song says that "[it is] known under several aliases as 'The Bold Pirate', 'The Pirate Song', 'The Irish Captain' and 'The London Man o' War', it has been collected from singers in Sussex, Norfolk, Dorset, Somerset and Nova Scotia."
However, The Dolphin isn't in the DT - or anywhere else online, as far as I can tell. It's basically the same song as Warlike Seamen (DT / Mainly Norfolk) but with different phrasing in every single verse - the folk process at work!
So here it is, transcribed from Tony Capstick's recording.
THE DOLPHIN
Our ship she lay in harbour In Liverpool Dock she lay Awaiting for fresh orders And our anchor for to weigh Bound down for the coast of Africa Our orders did run so O we're going to sink and destroy, me boys, No matter where we go.
Well, we had not been sailing Scarce fifty leagues and more When we espied a tall lofty ship Come down on us she bore O she hailed us in French colours And she asked us from whence we came O we've just come down from Liverpool town And the Dolphin is our name.
"O are you a man of war, sir? Pray tell me what you be." "I am no man of war, sir, But a pirate ship you see, O come heave up your fore and your main yards And let your ship come to For our tackle's overhauled and our boats are all lowered, Or else we will sink you."
O our captain stood on the quarterdeck He was brave and fearless too. "It's three to one against us," he cried All to our jovial crew And if it hadn't been for my younger brother O this battle would never have been tried, But let every man stand true to his guns And we'll give to them a broadside.
Now broadside to broadside, Which caused us all to wonder For to see them lofty tall ship's masts Come rattling down like thunder O we shot them from our quarterdeck Until they could no longer stay O our guns being smart and we played the best part And we showed them Liverpool play.
Now that lofty tall ship was taken And in Liverpool Dock was moored We fired shots with our own sweethearts And them fancy girls on shore O we lowered down the French colours And we hoisted the red, white and blue And we'll drink a success to the Dolphin And all of her jovial crew.
Threads combined - multiple threads on one song cause confusion and duplication, especially when both are active at the same time. -Joe Offer, Forum Moderator-