Quay Cur - The Fiery Furnaces

I had a locket, a little silver charm

Given to me for to keep me safe from harm

Canvassing the quayside, trying to earn my keep

A killick tore it off my neck and threw it in the deep

And now I’ll never never never feel like I’m safe again

And now I’ll never never never feel like I’m safe again

And now I’ll never never never feel like I’m safe again

Up to the quarantine, late night aboard

Try to raise our fees, but we get what they afford

Busy work below deck, according to form;

Waiting for the clear to leave, but then comes up a storm

We hid beneath the barrels of blubber hoping that the rain had passed

But when the wind kept up the rats cut down the rigging of the mast

And then the rust chewed through the anchor chain and out to sea we’re cast

The clouds dried and cracked

It was calm and in fact

The ship had been towed

By sea Dyaks rode

So we’re sold at Kolaba

'n sent--I let out a sob, a

Cry oh no it’s disaster

T’Ranter Bay Madagascar

Great gulps of Greek fire get us in

Sling sticks at the stockade of Fort Dauphin

A guardsman gave a griffin said grease my duke

Down by the chimney and out through the fluke

A looby, a lordant, a lagerhead, lozel

A lungio, lathback made me a proposal:

Straight sail, top mast, astrolabe prospected

Down in his dry dock, erected, infected

Mocked up with silk strings and taffeta tricked

With nails out of driftwood already iron sicked

Now spy out the glass at whatever missteps me

And the press-gang's warrant’s signed Sir Edward Pepsi

'Course it wasn’t long till I caught the croup

Dawdling on the drizzy deck of my majesty’s sloop

If only the helmsman would turn from his whip staff

With my azimuth compass I go by the graph

Up to the whaling fleet in Gilbert sound

Then back in the hull when we come around

With one hundred seals and two polar bears

Nearly in the harbor without any cares, but then:

A looby, a lordant, a lagerhead, lozel

A lungio, lathback made me a proposal:

Straight sail, top mast, astrolabe prospected

Down in his dry dock, erected, infected

Mocked up with silk strings and taffeta tricked

With nails out of driftwood already iron sicked

Now spy out the glass at whatever missteps me

And the press-gang's warrant’s signed Sir Edward Pepsi

Half-hour sandglass

Seven saker round shot

Ice for the moonshine

And chichsaneg

Canyglow, canyglow, canyglow, don’t say nugo

Tie tight my sugnacoon

In comes the tucktodo

Aba in aob abinyoh

Look awennye

Get out my sawygmeg

Yliaout, yliaout

Weave us on shore

Unuiche quoysah

Maconmeg

And I gave a sasobneg

Canyglow, canyglow, canyglow, don’t say nugo

Tie tight my sugnacoon

In comes the tucktodo

Aba in aob abinyoh

And now we live by muskles, water weeds, with small relief in store

And all the sick men in the Galean were then put upon the shore

And on the 22nd we didn’t see our general anymore

Down came our trestle-trees, no pitch tar or nails

Fore shrouds break no rope we trust

Only one shift of sails

Drink my Rosa Solis;

struck suddenly ahull

Yield ourselves we spoomed, my sinews stiff, my eyes were dull

And as we cross the equinoctial only five of us could stand

And while the capstan without sheets or tacks by all of us was manned

And on the 11th day of June ran in at Barehaven to land

And now I’ll never never never feel like I’m safe again

And now I’ll never never never feel like I’m safe again

And now I’ll never never never feel like I’m safe again