We’ve updated our Terms of Use to reflect our new entity name and address. You can review the changes here.
We’ve updated our Terms of Use. You can review the changes here.
supported by
atom_tan
atom_tan thumbnail
/

  • Streaming + Download

    Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
    Purchasable with gift card

      $2 USD  or more

     

  • Buy the Full Digital Album

  • Limited Edition CD
    Compact Disc (CD) + Digital Album

    Classic jewel case CD with insert featuring the lyrics to the original shanties and how to play them on the guitar. PLUS a couple of WSSS tattoos! (while stocks last)

    Includes unlimited streaming of NOW THAT'S WHAT I CALL SEA SHANTIES Vol II via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.

    Sold Out

  • Full Digital Discography

    6
    releases

    Get all 6 Wellington Sea Shanty Society releases available on Bandcamp and save 35%.

    Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality downloads of Sea Shanties of the 70s, 80s and Today!, Ahoy!, Now That's What I Call A Sea Shanty Podcast, NOW THAT'S WHAT I CALL SEA SHANTIES Vol II, NOW THAT'S WHAT I CALL SEA SHANTIES vol. 1, and The Cook Strait Demos. , and , .

    Excludes subscriber-only releases.

    Purchasable with gift card

      $17.55 USD or more (35% OFF)

     

about

Written by Vorn Dont le Pére Etait Marin.

lyrics

*Capo 3rd fret

Em D Em
I was born 10th of 10 in a town by the sea
Em D
And my father's heart died when my mother
A
died bearing me

Em G A
Dragged up in sorrow and always alone
G Bm
Still my heart did beat and my limbs did grow
Em
Yo Ho
Em D
And when he'd grown tired of beating
Em
me blue

Em D
My father said “I know who'll know what
A
to do with you”

Em G A
And off I was bundled to the Reverend's school
G Dm
Where the bullies were brutal
F# B
And the teacher was cruel
G Bm
And the switch did swing and the tears did flow
Em
Yo Ho

Five years I suffered and fagged and was flogged
In the name of an absent and furious god
And I learned how to spell and I learned how to hide
And the bruises did heal but the scars did show
Yo Ho
And it came in the spring of my eleventh year
That I’d had all the beatings that one boy could bear
And I leapt out my window and ran through the night
With my hands all a-shake and heart pounding with fright
And the fear did spur and my heels did fly
Yo Ho
Plymouth’s ten miles from the place of my birth
But I wanted to run to the ends of the earth
So I hobbled on broken feet down to the docks
Where the night ladies flirt and the cutpurses flock
Yo Ho
I chose the first unguarded ship that I found
And I boarded though I knew not where she was bound
And I huddled my bones in a lifeboat astern
And I swore I’d not move, though the whole ship should burn
Till the anchors did weigh and the horizon did grow
Yo Ho
Three days from shore I was found by the crew
Huddled and starving and too weak to move
And I asked them all if I was going to die
And they told me “That’s for Captain Cook to decide”
Yo Ho
He said “By rights I should cast you straight overboard
You’re a spare mouth to feed that we can ill afford
But I’ll see that you’re fed if you’ll see that you earn it
And I pray for your sake you’ll be quick to learn
For the sea loves to feed on a sailor that’s slow”
Yo Ho
Now I’ve toiled like a dog from that day to this
I’ve seen times so hard that I tell you I’ve missed even
The rod of the Reverend and my father’s fists
When the cold waves did tower and the killer winds did blow
Yo Ho
I’ve looked on in horror as not once but twice
That mad captain drove us through oceans of ice
And he’d not change his order and he’d heed no advice
Though the sails set solid and the ropes were like iron
And the frozen air filled with the groans of the dying
Yo Ho
I’ve seen men marooned, glad to watch us set sail
I’ve seen a princess held hostage, seen spears fly like
hail
I’ve seen good men go under while bad men prevail
Still my heart does beat and my limbs do grow
Yo Ho
I was born 10th of 10 in a town by the sea
And my father’s heart died when my mother
died bearing me
My heart still lives, and it longs to be home
And it fears that I’m destined forever to roam
Where the cold waves tower and the killer winds blow
Yo Ho

credits

from NOW THAT'S WHAT I CALL SEA SHANTIES Vol II, released June 29, 2015

license

tags

about

Wellington Sea Shanty Society image

Wellington Sea Shanty Society Wellington, New Zealand

Aotearoa New Zealand's Most 'Sea Worthy' Shanty Group™

contact / help

Contact Wellington Sea Shanty Society

Streaming and
Download help

Shipping and returns

Redeem code

Report this track or account

Wellington Sea Shanty Society recommends:

If you like Wellington Sea Shanty Society, you may also like:

Bandcamp Daily  your guide to the world of Bandcamp

On Bandcamp Radio

Fabiana Palladino stops by to talk about her mesmeric debut LP.
listen now