The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #52034   Message #795634
Posted By: radriano
02-Oct-02 - 02:22 PM
Thread Name: ADD: The Wild Caribee (Jerry O'Neill)
Subject: Lyr Add: THE WILD CARIBEE (Jerry O'Neill)
Right, Joe, that is Crowley's website. The other link was supposed to have all the lyrics.

Well, I gave the song another close listen and filled in some of my blanks. Here's what I have:

THE WILD CARIBEE
Written by Jerry O'Neill
Jimmy Crowley, The Coast of Malabar

I will tell ye a tale of the Tropical Sea
Where the dolphins dance tangos and the mermaids striptease
Of notorious night spots and far ports of call
Where we blew all our wages and drank till we fall

There's a club in [ ] called the Barbary Shore
[And the old Cellar Bar] in downtown Singapore
But the mightiest spot everyone must agree
Was the Port of [St. Anne?] in the Wild Caribee

Hey-ho, hey-hee, hey-ho, hey-hee
The Port of [Santan] in the Wild Caribee

Where we danced on the barstools and slept on the floor
Drank rum by the gallon, told lies by the score
Where we'd gambled and lied and sometimes we would fight
[ ] halfway through the night

[ ] at the head of a pin
And fell in love as quickly as we'd fall out again
We all graduated in philosophy but attended night classes
In the Wild Caribee

Hey ho, hey hee, hey ho, hey hee
Attended night classes in the Wild Caribee

There are beautiful girls in [ ]
And some men [ ] in the town of Paree
But there's none to compare from [Banteer] to Bali
[ ] of the Wild Caribee

You'll find the best of good porter down at the [ ] quay
For the best of poteen you must go to [Coolay]
But for best of good rum you must sail o'er the sea
To the port of [Santan] and the Wild Caribee

Hey-ho, hey-hee, hey-ho, hey-hee
The Port of [Santan] in the Wild Caribee

There were black men and white men and all shades in between
There were rascals in dreadlocks died orange and green
There were stetsons and turbins and [ ]
For the real fashion consious 'twas the place to be seen

There you'll hear [taki-taki] and poetic [patoi]
Some cleric in Latin, some southern [choctaw]
'Twas a chorus of Babel in sweet harmony
That united nations the, Wild Caribee

Hey-ho, hey-hee, hey-ho, hey-hee
That united nations the, Wild Caribee

I remember the last time we sailed from that place
[……………………………]
We hoist up the gangway and hung up the chain
But never would set eyes on [Santan] again

For the hurricane like a cancer was born
From a harmless red squall comes a tropical storm
It gathers its fury from the heat of the sun
And hurtles to landward like a shot from a gun

Hey-ho, hey-hee, hey-ho, hey-hee
The Port of [Santan] in the Wild Caribee

The hurricane struck the town of [St. Anne?]
And rained down destruction on the proud works of man
It washed half the town away into the sea
And left not a trace of the Wild Caribee

We'll go sailing no more in those Tropical Seas
[ ] where the mermaids striptease
But we'll always remember with a sad reverie
All the wild times we had in the Wild Caribee

Hey-ho, hey-hee, hey-ho, hey-hee
No trace of that landmark, the Wild Caribee

Notes from the album: This song reminded me of what the uncensored version of Treasure Island might be like when I first heard it sung in Cork city by its author, former ship's wireless operator, Jerry O'Neill. I was immediately captivated by the far-away, romantic elements and in no small way by Jerry's delivery of the song.

Richard