Helmsman William Lee (from Pirates Songs)

Once upon a time

Sailing ship was beached on ghostly island

Helmsman William Lee was the one

Who didn't die in the wreck

But he didn't live either

He stuck for years between worlds

Doomed to sail through an endless storm

Perpetuity haunted him

Remained his body intact

Though his soul became a skeleton

No one remembers now

How he ended up on our brig

He said he was a trained seaman

But no one heard of him

His steering skills were supreme:

All he was leaning on was the sun and the horizon line

(With sailing charts)

He could sail from east to west with his eyes closed

Never using ded reckoning

However sailing from north to south was hard,

Even for him because water is constantly moving

Going to the direction which is opposite and

There are no land marks

In the coming tempest you are sailing

Into the enormous surge

Winds rip sails to shreds and there is only death

Between the devil and the sea

Finally it is her due

You can beg for the mercy

When you don't realize that the ocean is not merciful

William Lee knew that storm was coming and

How long it would last

He set the ship closest to the oncoming waves

We wrapped ropes around our waists

Tons of waters were falling on the prow

When the steersman kept us alive

It was terrifying and intriguing

How he dealt with storms

Each of us individually felt that

There was something out of this world about him

But no one said it aloud