But I am a salt-sea pirate, I'm a-seeking for me fee

[sovay]

Avast! etc. In honor of our international holiday—


John Roberts & Tony Barrand, "The Flying Dutchman"

All hands to the rail, our gallant crew, as the ghost ship bore to sea
Our hearts were filled with awe and fear as she passed along our lee
The helmsman was likewise entranced, and as all hands sighed relief
With rending crash and mortal force our vessel struck a reef

Cindy Kallet, "High Barbary"

There's naught upon our stern, sir, there's naught upon our lee
(Blow high, blow low, and so sailed we)
But there's a lofty ship to windward and she's sailing fast and free
(All a-cruising down the coast of High Barbary)

Peter Bellamy, "Poor Honest Men"

Broadsides the Atlantic
We tumble short-handed,
With shot-holes to plug and new canvas to bend,
And off the Azores,
Dutch, Dons and Monsieurs
Are waiting to terrify poor honest men.

Bok, Muir & Trickett, "The Sea-Wife"

And some return by failing light,
And some in waking dream,
For she hears the heels of the dripping ghosts
That ride the rough roof-beam.

Lotte Lenya, "Seeräuberjenny"

Und ein Schiff mit acht Segeln
Und mit fünfzig Kanonen
Wird liegen am Kai

The Mountain Goats, "Jenny"

Nine hundred cc's of raw whining power
No outstanding warrants for my arrest
Hi-diddle-dee-dee, God damn!
A pirate's life for me

Murder City Devils, "No Grave But the Sea"

What would you say, Jim Hawkins
To you, Anne Bonny?
What would you say, Anne Bonny
If you could speak for yourself?

The Changelings, "Port Royale"

I'm a privateer, I'm a buccaneer, and I'll cut your head clean off
Through the smoke of cannon, I'll take your galleon and cart your precious treasures off
No king's skittish British navy
Gives me orders, barely pays me
I swagger through the cannons' smoke
Shouting, shooting bloody hell out of the whole damn lot

The Arrogant Worms, "The Last Saskatchewan Pirate"

Farmers, bar your doors
When you see the Jolly Roger on Regina's mighty shores

Comments

[sovay]

And it was very interesting to hear "Seeräuberjenny"; I've only ever heard that song as "The Black Freighter," sung by Maddy Prior with Steeleye Span.

Nope; it's "Seeräuberjenny" ("Pirate Jenny") from Brecht and Weill's Die Dreigroschenoper (The Threepenny Opera), 1928. Marc Blitzstein did the original English translation in 1954; by now there are multiple others, several of which I'm unfamiliar with and need to check out. I have heard very good things about the 1994 Donmar Warehouse production.

[ap-aelfwine.livejournal.com]

Ah. I was thinking Steeleye had recorded an English translation under the name of "The Black Freighter." (Wrongly titled, obviously, but it wouldn't be the first time, and perhaps I'm mismembering their titling.)

Thanks for the additional recording. Am looking forward to hearing it.

[sovay]

Ah. I was thinking Steeleye had recorded an English translation under the name of "The Black Freighter."

No, they did; it's just Brecht and Weill's originally.

[ap-aelfwine.livejournal.com]

No, they did; it's just Brecht and Weill's originally.

Ayup. I'd known it was Brecht's and Weill's in the beginning.
We could use a better vocabulary for distinguishing translations and originals, I suspect.