The Sovereign Of The Seas

Dm Am Bb F C Dm Dm Come all you hearty shellbacks, Am And listen to me tale, Bb F Of most majestic worthiness C Am That ever defied a gale; Dm The greatest vessel of her kind Am That ever a man did see, Bb F She was the mighty clipper ship, Am Dm The Sovereign of the Seas. Dm It’s Boston eighteen fifty-two, Am The yards of Donald McKay, Bb F He built the biggest clipper ship C Am To ever launch down the ways; Dm His reputation on the line, Am His money ventured too; Bb F But he would laugh the last, Am Dm He’d show them he was true. Dm Am She crossed the line and doubled the Horn, C F She lived to chase a breeze; Gm Am She was the mighty clipper ship Bb C Dm The Sovereign of the Seas. Dm Her frame of seasoned white oak, Am Her lines were sharp and long, Bb F Her backbone, knees and keelson, C Am She was so stout and strong; Dm Two hundred sixty-five feet Am She reached from stem to stern, Bb F Twelve thousand yards of canvas Am Dm All for the wind did yearn. Dm With Neptune ‘neath the bowsprit, Am She cut the waves so fine, Bb F She swept into New York me boys C Am To work for the Swallowtail line; Dm No ship to date had stowed so much Am Down in the hold, Bb F Three thousand tons of goods below Am Dm Took thirty days to load. Dm Am She crossed the line and doubled the Horn, C F She lived to chase a breeze; Gm Am She was the mighty clipper ship Bb C Dm The Sovereign of the Seas. Dm The water-gazers all along Am The battery did stare, Bb F As she filled her sails to windward C Am In the sunlight’s golden glare; Dm Then outward bound for ‘Frisco Am And the screaming westerlies, Bb F Across the line and round the Horn Am Dm Through the Roaring Forties. Dm The gale took half the rigging, Am We’ll fix it underway, Bb F We’ll weather any sea C Am The skipper did boldly say; Dm Don’t mind the boarding combers, Am As the solid green she ships, Bb F We’ll throw up some more canvas Am Dm Then we’ll punch her through the rips. Dm Am She crossed the line and doubled the Horn, C F She lived to chase a breeze; Gm Am She was the mighty clipper ship Bb C Dm The Sovereign of the Seas. Dm Am C F Gm Am Bb C Dm Dm Am C F Gm Am Bb C Dm Dm Sailing into ‘Frisco Bay, Am A hundred three days out, Bb F The crowds along the waterfront C Am They shouted and danced about; Dm Payday brought a bonus Am For all the men on board, Bb F A hundred thousand for the ship Am Dm That voyages reward. Dm Then to the Sandwich Isles Am For a load of oil and bone, Bb F Eight thousand barrels of whale oil C Am First clipper to bring it home; Dm Eighty-two days later Am A record to New York, Bb F She earned her keep for Donald McKay Am Dm Sailing from port to port. Dm Am She crossed the line and doubled the Horn, C F She lived to chase a breeze; Gm Am She was the mighty clipper ship Bb C Dm The Sovereign of the Seas. Dm Leaving records in her wake Am And cargo round the world, Bb F A ship ahead of her time C Am With all her sails unfurled; Dm From Bombay to Ampoa, Am London to Shanghai, Bb F She flew across the waters Am Dm The world of sea and sky. Dm But under heavy canvas, Am She foundered in a gale, Bb F She wrecked upon the Pyramid shoals C Am And none to tell the tale, Dm ‘Twas but her seventh summer, Am Cut short her glorious reign, Bb F But those who burn the brightest Am Dm Oft flash the briefest flame. Dm Am She crossed the line and doubled the Horn, C F She lived to chase a breeze; Gm Am She was the mighty clipper ship Bb C Dm The Sovereign of the Seas. Dm Am She crossed the line and doubled the Horn, C F She lived to chase a breeze; Gm Am She was the mighty clipper ship Bb C Dm The Sovereign of the Seas.