Born in a port side town
With a seafaring father gone away
He knew when he became a man
The sea would lead him astray
Signed onto a ship of the line
Outward bound into war
One of many upon the brine
Untested for what’s in store
A veteran boatswain of many years
Befriended the sailor to calm his fears
But upon a howling stormy night
The truth would finally unfold
A tale of war and a sea so cold
And this is the tale he told
Sailors adrift in their watery graves
Long since vanished beneath uncaring waves
By blade or wreck it mattered not
In Davy Jones’ locker they lay and rot
For the call of fortune glory and fame
Has led many a young man into the flames
From history’s dawn on countless shores
Young hearts beat fearless
And heroes born
High in the nest
Keen eye on the horizon
Stout brothers in arms
Men they can rely on
Swords so bright or cannon’s roar
Blood pain and death
The consequences of war
Under a grey dawn the ships were met
broadsides fired and mothers wept
For two whole days the storm it raged
A high price payed for the war that waged
Judgement came to collect its debts
As both ships sank to the crushing depths
The waves did crash in the howling dark
Sailors tossed amongst the sharks
Until none were left except for one
Who floated for days under the burning sun
To wash upon a foreign shore
And swore he would sail no more
This is where the boatswains’ story ends
Believing he had terrified his friend
Instead he stood tall his face so stern
He said the time had come to take his turn
To stand with his brothers on the very fore
To fight and die on the tides of war
Swords so bright or cannon’s roar
Blood pain and death
The consequences of war
To fight and die on the tides of war