Mary Rose (a ghost shanty)

Ten ‘n’ five hundred years afore,                          

     Henry fell’d a forest o’ trees.

Oak to make a ship o’ war,

      named for God ‘n’ Queen.

We helmed ‘er broadsides on th’ breeze,

     an’ sank ‘er keel in th’ Solent Sea.

Who was she, to lift King’s eye,                       

     who were we to so quickly die?

Chorus

Mary Rose, Mary Rose,

          Your salty life is mine.

Two castles strong, guns galore,

jeweled for King ‘n’ rigged for war.

I’m purser, aweighin’ the gold                   

Me scales ‘n’ coins are sunk in the hold

With our passing I’ll ne’er grow old

     Ahoy! what’s yer name?

I’m carpenter, mending the ship

My chests ‘n’ tools were pitched in th’ slip

With our plunge I’ll ne’er reship

     Mistress what’s your name?

Chorus     

Ar’ dog’s a rogue, he gets the rats

He paced ’n’ pawed under th’ hatch

Our floodin’ was his last dispatch

     Ahoy! what’s yer name?

I’m ship’s pilot, I navigate

M’ compass ‘n’ charts ‘re soaked in the strait

She foundered fast, like a leaden weight

     Mistress what’s yer name?

Chorus

I’m archer, I bend th’ bow

My strings ‘n’ arrows are coffined below

Ship’s laid low, ‘n’ so ‘s me soul

     Ahoy! what’s yer name?

I’m the cook, I stew our meat

My ovens ‘r’ doused in th’ briny deep

A sunken galley is cold defeat

     Mistress what’s your name?

Chorus

I’m barber, I tend th’ ill

My combs ‘n’ blades run under th’ swell

With our plight I’ll ne’er resail

     Ahoy! what’s yer name?

I’m gunner, I fire th’ rounds

Cannons ‘r’ loose ‘n’ lost aground

From our blunder, I won’t rebound

     Mistress what’s your name?

Chorus

I’m bosun, boss o’ th’ deck

My pipes ‘n’ bones are fused to the wreck

With my men, I’ll choke in the black

     Ahoy! what’s yer name?

We’re sea-dawgs, we sing to th’ ropes

Our shanties ‘r’ bottled on barnacled slopes

Hand o’r hand, we haul’d dead hopes

      Mistress what’s your name?

Chorus

So, we set heavy sail, full to th’ wind                                      

     ‘n’ heeled gun holes below.

Nets o’ war trapped us within

     ‘n’ she scuttled our dam-ned bones.

We trimmed ‘er canvas on th’ breeze,

     ‘n’ drowned ‘er hull in th’ Solent Sea.

Who was she, to wet King’s eye,                                                           

     who were we to sorrily die?

Last Chorus – altered 2nd line to: “love us to the end”