Derelict

Am E Am Fifteen men on the Dead Man's Chest- Am G Am Yo-ho-ho and a bottle of rum! Am E Am Drink and the devil had done for the rest- Am G Am Yo-ho-ho and a bottle of rum! Dm Am The mate was fixed by the bos'n's pike, Dm Am The bos'n brained with a marlin spike, Dm Am E And Cookey's throat was marked belike Dm Am It had been gripped by fingers ten; Dm Am And there they lay, all good dead men Dm Am E Like break-o'-day in a boozing-ken- Am E Am Yo-ho-ho and a bottle of rum! Am E Am Fifteen men of the whole ship's list- Am G Am Yo-ho-ho and a bottle of rum! Am E Am Dead and be damned and the rest gone whist!- Am G Am Yo-ho-ho and a bottle of rum! Dm Am The skipper lay with his nob in gore Dm Am Where the scullion's axe his cheek had shore- Dm Am E And the scullion he was stabbed times four. Dm Am And there they lay, and the soggy skies Dm Am Dripped all day long in upstaring eyes- Dm Am E In murk sunset and at foul sunrise- Am E Am Yo-ho-ho and a bottle of rum! Am E Am Fifteen men of 'em stiff and stark- Am G Am Yo-ho-ho and a bottle of rum! Am E Am Ten of the crew had the Murder mark- Am G Am Yo-ho-ho and a bottle of rum! Dm Am 'Twas a cutlass swipe or an ounce of lead, Dm Am Or a yawing hole in a battered head- Dm Am E And the scuppers glut with a rotting red Dm Am And there they lay- aye, damn my eyes- Dm Am All lookouts clapped on paradise- Dm Am E All souls bound just contrariwise- Am E Am Yo-ho-ho and a bottle of rum! Am E Am Fifteen men on the Dead Man's Chest- Am G Am Yo-ho-ho and a bottle of rum! Am E Am Drink and the devil had done for the rest- Am G Am Yo-ho-ho and a bottle of rum! Dm Am We wrapped 'em all in a mains'l tight Dm Am With twice ten turns of a hawser's bight Dm Am E And we heaved 'em over and out of sight- Dm Am With a Yo-Heave-Ho! And a fare-you-well! Dm Am And a sudden plunge in the sullen swell, Dm Am E Ten fathoms deep on the road to hell! Am E Am Yo-ho-ho and a bottle of rum! Verses 4 and 5 of the poem are rarely found in modern musical renditions, but I have included them here for completeness: Fifteen men of 'em good and true- Every man jack could ha' sailed with Old Pew- There was chest on chest full of Spanish gold, With a ton of plate in the middle hold, And the cabins riot of stuff untold, And they lay there, That had took the plum, With sightless glare And their lips struck dumb, While we shared all by the rule of thumb- Yo-ho-ho and a bottle of rum! More was seen through the stern light screen- Chartings no doubt where a woman had been!- A flimsy shift on a bunker cot, With a thin dirk slot through the bosom spot And the lace stiff dry in a purplish blot. Oh was she wench… Or some shuddering maid…? That dared the knife- And took the blade! By God! she was stuff for a plucky jade- Yo-ho-ho and a bottle of rum!