Fifteen men on the Dead Man’s Chest—Drink and the devil had done for the rest—The mate was fixed by the bos’n’s pike,The bos’n brained with a marlin spike,And Cookey’s throat was marked belikeIt had been grippedBy fingers ten;And there they lay,All good dead menLike break-o’-day in a boozing-ken— Yo-ho-ho and a bottle of rum!
Fifteen men of the whole ship’s list—Dead and be damned and the rest gone whist!—The skipper lay with his nob in goreWhere the scullion’s axe his cheek had shore—And the scullion he was stabbed times four.And there they lay,And the soggy skiesDripped all day longIn upstaring eyes—In murk sunset and at foul sunrise— Yo-ho-ho and a bottle of rum!
Fifteen men of ’em stiff and stark—Ten of the crew had the Murder mark—’Twas a cutlass swipe or an ounce of lead,Or a yawing hole in a battered head—And the scuppers glut with a rotting redAnd there they lay—Aye, damn my eyes—All lookouts clappedOn paradise—All souls bound just contrariwise— Yo-ho-ho and a bottle of rum.
Fifteen men of ‘em good and true—Every man jack could ha’ sailed with Old Pew—There was chest on chest full of Spanish gold,With a ton of plate in the middle hold,And the cabins riot of stuff untold,And they lay there,That had took the plum,With sightless glareAnd their lips struck dumb,While we shared all by the rule of thumb— Yo-ho-ho and a bottle of rum!
More was seen through the stern light screen—Chartings no doubt where a woman had been!—A flimsy shift on a bunker cot,With a thin dirk slot through the bosom spotAnd the lace stiff dry in a purplish blot.Oh was she wench…Or some shuddering maid…?That dared the knife—And took the blade!By God! she was stuff for a plucky jade— Yo-ho-ho and a bottle of rum!
Fifteen men on the Dead Man’s Chest—Drink and the devil had done for the rest—We wrapped ‘em all in a mains’l tightWith twice ten turns of a hawser’s bightAnd we heaved ’em over and out of sight—With a Yo-Heave-Ho!And a fare-you-well!And a sullen plungeIn the sullen swell,Ten fathoms deep on the road to hell! Yo-ho-ho and a bottle of rum!
Fifteen men on the Dead Man’s Chest—Drink and the devil had done for the rest—The mate was fixed by the bos’n’s pike,The bos’n brained with a marlin spike,And Cookey’s throat was marked belikeIt had been grippedBy fingers ten;And there they lay,All good dead menLike break-o’-day in a boozing-ken— Yo-ho-ho and a bottle of rum!
Fifteen men of the whole ship’s list—Dead and be damned and the rest gone whist!—The skipper lay with his nob in goreWhere the scullion’s axe his cheek had shore—And the scullion he was stabbed times four.And there they lay,And the soggy skiesDripped all day longIn upstaring eyes—In murk sunset and at foul sunrise— Yo-ho-ho and a bottle of rum!
Fifteen men of ’em stiff and stark—Ten of the crew had the Murder mark—’Twas a cutlass swipe or an ounce of lead,Or a yawing hole in a battered head—And the scuppers glut with a rotting redAnd there they lay—Aye, damn my eyes—All lookouts clappedOn paradise—All souls bound just contrariwise— Yo-ho-ho and a bottle of rum.
Fifteen men of ‘em good and true—Every man jack could ha’ sailed with Old Pew—There was chest on chest full of Spanish gold,With a ton of plate in the middle hold,And the cabins riot of stuff untold,And they lay there,That had took the plum,With sightless glareAnd their lips struck dumb,While we shared all by the rule of thumb— Yo-ho-ho and a bottle of rum!
More was seen through the stern light screen—Chartings no doubt where a woman had been!—A flimsy shift on a bunker cot,With a thin dirk slot through the bosom spotAnd the lace stiff dry in a purplish blot.Oh was she wench…Or some shuddering maid…?That dared the knife—And took the blade!By God! she was stuff for a plucky jade— Yo-ho-ho and a bottle of rum!
Fifteen men on the Dead Man’s Chest—Drink and the devil had done for the rest—We wrapped ‘em all in a mains’l tightWith twice ten turns of a hawser’s bightAnd we heaved ’em over and out of sight—With a Yo-Heave-Ho!And a fare-you-well!And a sullen plungeIn the sullen swell,Ten fathoms deep on the road to hell! Yo-ho-ho and a bottle of rum!
by Allison