Prompt / Lyrics
[Verse 1] Cold blew the dawn off the Dogger Bank Tar in our teeth and the sky gone gray Captain’s eye sharp as a grapnel fang “Boys Haul her close or you’ll learn to pray” [Chorus] Oh Row Lads Row For the black rope’s end For salt-scored backs and a wage to spend If the sea don’t take you The lash just might So row Lads Row through the crawling night [Verse 2] Jonah Jack laughed at the rising gale Spat at the clouds and he cursed our run Masthead cried out “There’s a tear in the sail” By dusk that day We were short one son [Chorus] Oh Row Lads Row For the black rope’s end For salt-scored backs and a wage to spend If the sea don’t take you The lash just might So row Lads Row through the crawling night [Bridge] We buried him quick in a canvas shroud Three-shot salute and a whispered name Then back to the oars While the wind howled loud Grief tastes the same as the spray and shame [Chorus] Oh Row Lads Row For the black rope’s end For salt-scored backs and a wage to spend If the sea don’t take you The lash just might So row Lads Row through the crawling night
Tags
folk, Acoustic maritime folk shanty in a minor key, baritone male vocals leading a raw deckhand chorus. Stomps and oar-thumps mark a steady rowing tempo; fiddle and low whistle double the melody. Verses stay sparse and gritty, then the chorus swells into full crew call-and-response with rough harmonies and a droning concertina bed. Subtle room reverb to feel like a cramped wooden hull., vocal, ballad, shanty, acoustic, rhythmic
Duration
2:32
Instrumental
No
Created
4/4/2026