In honor of “International Talk Like a Pirate Day” please enjoy this free mp3 download of our tune “Rough Music“. It refers to how when sailors were mistreated by their officers and were unhappy with conditions aboard ship they would wait until nightfall and then start to roll shot – cannon balls – on the decks and bang other metal objects. These discordant sounds are called rough music and often prefaced a mutiny.
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ROUGH MUSIC ©M. Martin
I’m a roving man, I ply the waves
from Bristol to Benin
from Boston Harbour to Barbados
and back again
Side by side I sail and fight with
brave and brazen men
Our bond is born of circumstance and the
quest for rich fortune
I owe the scratches on my back
to a captain drunk with power
His wrath bled all of loyalty
and set the crew to sour
We bade our time with firm resolve
to carry out the plot
Then one dark night every hand
took to rolling shot
Ay O Ay O Heed these sounds of righteous discontent
Ay O Ay O We shall have proper recompense
Of all the women I have known
I’m true to only one
To her I’ll bring these silver coins
and silks of dark crimson
I’m a roving man, I ply the waves
from Bristol to Benin
from Boston Harbour to Barbados
and back again
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FYI there are more free downloads on our fanfare page.
We are now working on the follow up CD to “Skull and Magpies“. More adventures on the high seas!