| Scots |
|---|
| Come, all ye jolly mariners |
| That love to tak' a dram |
| I'll tell ye o' a robber |
| That o'er the sea did come |
| He wrote a letter tae the king |
| On the eleventh of July |
| To see if he wad accept o' him |
| For his jovial company |
| "Na, na," says the king |
| "Oh that can never be |
| They tell me ye're a robber |
| A robber on the sea" |
| He has built a bonnie ship |
| An' sent her tae the sea |
| Wi' fower and twenty mariners |
| To man his bonnie ship wi' |
| An' they sailed up, an' they sailed doon |
| Sae stately, blythe an' free |
| 'Til they spied the king's high Reindeer |
| Like a leviathan on the sea |
| "Why sit there, ye tinker |
| Ye silly coordly thief? |
| Why lie there, ye tinker |
| An' hold oor king in grief?" |
| They fought from one in the morning |
| 'Til it was six at night |
| Until the king's high Reindeer |
| Was forced to tak' her flight |
| Gae hame, gae hame, ye tinkers |
| Tell ye your king fae me |
| Though he reign king upon good dry land |
| I will reign king upon sea |
| Come, all ye jolly mariners |
| That love to tak' a dram |
| I'll tell ye o' a robber |
| That o'er the sea did come |
| He wrote a letter tae the king |
| On the eleventh of July |
| To see if he wad accept o' him |
| For his jovial company |
| "Na, na," says the king |
| "Oh that can never be |
| They tell me ye're a robber |
| A robber on the sea" |
| He has built a bonnie ship |
| An' sent her tae the sea |
| Wi' fower and twenty mariners |
| To man his bonnie ship wi' |
Captain Ward
Traditional (Child 287)
Arranged by The Tannahill Weavers
As recorded by The Tannahill Weavers on Capernaum