High Barbaree

High Barbaree
Bob Roberts

There were two lofty ships that from old England came,
Blow high—blow low—and so a-sailed we,
One was the Prince o' Luther and the other Prince o' Wales,
Sailing down along the coast of High Barbaree.

Aloft there—aloft—our jolly bosun cried,
Look ahead and look astern—the weather and a-lee.
Look down ....

O there's naught upon the stern and there's naught upon the lee,
But there's a lofty ship to wind'ard and she's sailing fast and free.
Sailing down.....

O hail 'er—O hail 'er—our gallant captain cried,
"Are you a man-o'-war or a privateer says 'e?"
Sailing down.....

"O I'm not a man-of-war—nor a privateer says 'e,
But I'm a salt-sea pirate—a-looking for me fee."
Looking down.....

So 'twas broadside and broadside—as hour on hour we lay,
Until the Prince o' Luther shot the pirate's mast away.
Sailing down.....

"O quarter—O quarter"—the pirate then did cry,
The quarter that we gave 'em—we sunk 'em in the sea.
Sailing down.....

And O it was a cruel sight and grieved us full sore,
To see 'em all drowning as they tried to swim ashore.

This classic story of pirate encounter was published by Ashton in 1891, though it is likely to have been extant before then, and has also been found in versions on the Eastern seaboard of the United States.