Come all ye rambling sailor lads come listen
unto me
I'm heavy bound in irons for to die for
piracy
With eighteen more I am condemned in sorrow
to complain
For plundering and burning ships down
on the Spanish Main
My name is Edward Anderson as you may understand
I was born in the town of Waterford in
Erin's lovely land
My parents reared me tenderly in the fear
of God likewise
But I never thought I'd die in scorn beneath
Cuba's sunny skies
When I was young and innocent my heart
it knew no guide
In happy home I lived content my parents
on me smiled
But drinking and bad company have made
a wretch of me
Take warning all by my downfall beware
of piracy
My father bound me to a trade in Waterford's
fair town
He bound me to a cooper there his name
was William Brown
I served my master faithfully for eighteen
months or more
Then I shipped on board of The Ocean
Queen bound for Valpariso's shore
It happened in Valpariso I fell in with
Captain Moore
He commanded the clipper Flying Cloud
sailing out of Baltimore
He hired me to sail with him on a slaving
voyage to go
To the burning shores of Africa where
the sugar cane do grow
The Flying Cloud is a clipper
Barc five hundred tons or more
She can easily sail round any ship sailing
out of Baltimore
I was oft times in that gallant ship with
the wind abaft a'beam
With royal and studdle sails set aloft
taking sixteen from the reel
Her sails are as white as the driven snow
and on them there is no speck
Her seventy-five brasss mounted guns she
carries on her deck
Her iron chest and magazine is completely
stowed below
And she carries a bout chaser between
her spars on a swivel it do go
We soon dashed o'er the raging main and
landed safe on shore
T'was o'er five hundred of those poor
slaves from their country home we tore
We dragged their bodies to our ship we
put them down below
It was eighteen inches to a man thats
all we had to stow
We weighed our anchor put to sea our cargo
it being slaves
T'would be far better for those men they
were going unto their graves
For the plague and fever came on board
took half of them away
We dragged their bodies on the deck and
threw them in the sea
It being in a short while after that we
reached the Arabian shore
We sold them to a planter there they were
slaves forever more
To reap the rice and sugar fields beneath
a burning sun
For to drag away their wretched lives
until their career was done
And when our money was all spent we came
on board again
Now Captain Moore he came on deck he said
to us his men
Theres lots of money to be had far over
on the Main
And if ye'll agree my bully boys I'll
tell ye how its gained
We have as fast a sailing ship thats ever
skimmed the seas
Or ever spread a main topsail before a
lively gail
If ye'll agree my bully boys and with
me do remain
We'll run aloft that pirate flag we'll
scour the Spanish main
All hands agreed but five bold youths we
were ordered them to land
There was two of them from Boston and
two more from Newfoundland
The other was an Irish lad a native of
Tramore
Oh I wish to God I'd joined those men
and went with them onshore
We robbed and plundered manys a ship down
on the Spanish main
Caused many a widow and orphan child in
sorrow to complain
We made those poor men walk the plank
hung over our ship's rail
And the cruel sayings of our captain boys
dead men they tells no tales
We were oft times chased by man-o-war and
oft by frigates too
But to overhaul The Flying Cloud
t'was a thing they could not do
For all in vain astern of us their cannons
roared aloud
But they never could by any means overtake
The Flying Cloud
Until that Spanish man-o-war The Don Juan
hove in view
She fired a shot across our bow as a signal
to heave to
We made to him no answer then but ran
before the wind
When a chance shot struck our mizzen and
we soon then fell behind
We cleared our decks for action then as
she ranged up alongside
And soon upon our quarter deck there flowed
a crimson tide
We fought till Captain Moore was killed
and twenty of his men
Then a bombshell set our ship on fire
we all surrendered then
We were taken then as prisoners and into
prison cast
We were tried and found guilty for to
be hung at last
To see what I am come to by my unlucky
hand
I am sentenced to die for piracy by the
laws of the Spanish land
So farewell honoured mother your face I'll
see no more
And farewell honoured sweetheart it is
you I do adore
I never will kiss your ruby lips nor press
your lilly white hand
For I'm sentenced to die for piracy by
the laws of the Spanish land