May 04, 2004
Goddamn them all
Posted by bopuc at May 4, 2004 10:52 AM
Bear with me.. I recently saw "Master & Commander" (twice, on flights) and "Pirates of the Caribbean". This is to bring back memories of cheap beer night on Tuesdays when the Irish band would play at the Brasserie in Ste-Anne-de-Bellevue.
BARRETT'S PRIVATEERS
Oh, the year was 1778, HOW I WISH I WAS IN SHERBROOKE NOW!
A letter of marque come from the king,
To the scummiest vessel I'd ever seen,God damn them all!
I was told we'd cruise the seas for American gold
We'd fire no guns-shed no tears
Now I'm a broken man on a Halifax pier
The last of Barrett's Privateers.Oh, Elcid Barrett cried the town, HOW I WISH I WAS IN SHERBROOKE NOW!
For twenty brave men all fishermen who
would make for him the Antelope's crewGod damn them all!
I was told we'd cruise the seas for American gold
We'd fire no guns-shed no tears
Now I'm a broken man on a Halifax pier
The last of Barrett's Privateers.The Antelope sloop was a sickening sight, HOW I WISH I WAS IN SHERBROOKE NOW!
She'd a list to the port and and her sails in rags
And the cook in scuppers with the staggers and the jagsGod damn them all!
I was told we'd cruise the seas for American gold
We'd fire no guns-shed no tears
Now I'm a broken man on a Halifax pier
The last of Barrett's Privateers.On the King's birthday we put to sea, HOW I WISH I WAS IN SHERBROOKE NOW!
We were 91 days to Montego Bay
Pumping like madmen all the wayGod damn them all!
I was told we'd cruise the seas for American gold
We'd fire no guns-shed no tears
Now I'm a broken man on a Halifax pier
The last of Barrett's Privateers.On the 96th day we sailed again, HOW I WISH I WAS IN SHERBROOKE NOW!
When a bloody great Yankee hove in sight
With our cracked four pounders we made to fightGod damn them all!
I was told we'd cruise the seas for American gold
We'd fire no guns-shed no tears
Now I'm a broken man on a Halifax pier
The last of Barrett's Privateers.The Yankee lay low down with gold, HOW I WISH I WAS IN SHERBROOKE NOW!
She was broad and fat and loose in the stays
But to catch her took the Antelope two whole daysGod damn them all!
I was told we'd cruise the seas for American gold
We'd fire no guns-shed no tears
Now I'm a broken man on a Halifax pier
The last of Barrett's Privateers.Then at length we stood two cables away, HOW I WISH I WAS IN SHERBROOKE NOW!
Our cracked four pounders made an awful din
But with one fat ball the Yank stove us inGod damn them all!
I was told we'd cruise the seas for American gold
We'd fire no guns-shed no tears
Now I'm a broken man on a Halifax pier
The last of Barrett's Privateers.The Antelope shook and pitched on her side, HOW I WISH I WAS IN SHERBROOKE NOW!
Barrett was smashed like a bowl of eggs
And the Maintruck carried off both me legsGod damn them all!
I was told we'd cruise the seas for American gold
We'd fire no guns-shed no tears
Now I'm a broken man on a Halifax pier
The last of Barrett's Privateers.So here I lay in my 23rd year, HOW I WISH I WAS IN SHERBROOKE NOW!
It's been 6 years since we sailed away
And I just made Halifax yesterdayGod damn them all!
I was told we'd cruise the seas for American gold
We'd fire no guns-shed no tears
Now I'm a broken man on a Halifax pier
The last of Barrett's Privateers.Written and recorded by Stan Rogers. Copyright © Fogarty's Cove Music
Comments
Awesome song. Have you heard the Stan Rogers recording?
It's quite the story too. It's made up of course, but the setting is real. After the Americans won the War of Independance the Brits were pretty peeved, so they issued licenses to Canadian- and Caribbean-based ships to work as privateers -- basically, royally sanctioned pirates.
The line "We?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢d fire no guns-shed no tears" refers to the fact that most victims of privateers gave up their loot without a fight. (Privateers took the loot by wouldn't sink the ship or kill the crew unless there was a fight -- unlike pirates, who would do that whether you fought or not). Occasionally, however, the ship being attacked would fight back, and that's where this sad story comes from.
Posted by: blork at May 4, 2004 04:46 PM
You know, I grew up in Sherbrooke, and I never knew what that song had to do with the town. I mean, it's inland and everything, and I don't think there's another Sherbrooke, since it's named after some colonel.
Posted by: Michel at May 7, 2004 10:47 AM
Well, Michel, you know.. that may just be the point no? If you were off on some mission from hell on the high seas, and had yer legs smashed off in the process.. wouldn't you rather be in Sherbrooke too?
;)
Also, it may just be that the narrator is from Sherbrooke? Who knows. :)
Posted by: Boris Anthony at May 7, 2004 11:01 AM
Oh, I understand that, but Sherbrooke was such a little town at the time, which is why I can't understand why it appears in the song.
Posted by: Michel at May 7, 2004 01:43 PM
I reckon the song is referring to Sherbrooke, Nova Scotia.
Posted by: blork at May 8, 2004 10:46 PM
aye, me boys, thee song is aboot sherbrooke, nova scotia, make no mistake, as much as i wish it was aboot our own, being a townshipper meself... but ill shed no tears--the song is a beaut!
Posted by: joel at May 21, 2004 10:30 AM
i heard this song in my favourite tv series "due south" (3rd season) when paul gross sung it... it was very cool in the context!
Posted by: anni at November 1, 2004 12:34 AM
gillian welch makes reference to "the staggers and the jags" (and rhymes it with rags) not once, but twice on her great album "time - the revelator" (in "april 14th" and in "i dream a highway"). pretty nifty.
Posted by: Skull Head at November 8, 2004 09:49 PM
You know, someone could make an adaptation of this to express the disillusionment and resentment of the American soldiers in Iraq. It would probably be more effective than all the editorials written about the war.
Posted by: Patrick at December 30, 2004 01:35 PM
Actually, the song is not referring to Sherbrooke the town, but Sherbrooke the ship. See the following link for a discussion of this:
http://stevebriggs.superb.net/stanrogers/songs/bp-sng.html
Cheers!
Matt
Posted by: Matt at March 24, 2005 01:11 AM
How can that be since the song says "in Sherbrooke"? It would make more sense for a person to say "on a boat", not "in a boat". You also state that a family members lives IN a certain town, state, or country, not ON.
Posted by: Ben at November 16, 2005 11:17 PM
methinks ben has never been to nova scotia :)
they sort of have their own language out there.
Posted by: mouse059 at November 29, 2005 12:20 PM
I think this song is AWSOME! I remember when I was 8 and my dad printed it of the computer and we drove my mum crazy trying to memerize it!
Posted by: Jasmin at January 11, 2006 07:22 PM
what are "jags"?
Posted by: jasmin at January 11, 2006 07:27 PM
staggers and jags is an ol sayin meanin somethin akin to the heebie jeebies.the cook's on the scuppers which are holes in the deck of a ship fer drainin water and he's heavin' hes lot,so its a fine place to be wit the condition such as he's afflicted.
Posted by: caper at March 30, 2006 02:38 PM
A local band used to play this tune at a bar in Prairie Du Chien Wisconsin on the Mississippi River back in the early 80s.
I was certain that if I visited Halifax it would be playing in SOME bar. My husband thought it beyond wishful thinking. We were in Halifax in 1997? Or was it '98?
But, lo and behold, we happened upon a living history/reenactment festival with folks in authentic garb and what might they be singing!
My internet search for these lyrics is for the purpose of passing on to a friend who's visiting Halifax next week. Thanks for posting!
Posted by: an old park ranger at August 25, 2006 02:12 PM
This song is really good=) Theres heart in this song.
Posted by: Ehmil D. Fransson at September 2, 2006 08:30 AM