Prompt / Lyrics
[Intro] [Low humming Crew in unison Then one voice steps out] [Verse 1] Black sails off Ushant Dawn runnin’ pale Powder in the barrels Rum thin as hail King’s flag above us Pay thin as air Thirty press-gang brothers and a captain’s stare [Chorus] Heave Boys Heave To the devil or the crown Pull that world of water down Heave Boys Heave Let the gray sea judge For the tide takes all And the tide won’t budge [Verse 2] Gun smoke at noon And the gulls flew low Iron in the thunder Splinters in the snow “Board her!” the cry Then the cold steel sang And the bright red river from the dead rail ran [Chorus] Heave Boys Heave To the devil or the crown Pull that world of water down Heave Boys Heave Let the gray sea judge For the tide takes all And the tide won’t budge [Bridge] Names on a muster Gone like foam Letters in pockets that never saw home Prayers in the bilge where the dark rats feed Only thing that answered was the creak and the bleed (ohhh) [Verse 3] Storm found us grinnin’ at the edge of war Hull broke open like a tavern door Captain went prayin’ while the mainmast cracked We just cursed and laughed as the black wave smacked [Chorus] Heave Boys Heave To the devil or the crown Pull that world of water down Heave Boys Heave Let the gray sea judge For the tide takes all And the tide won’t budge [Chorus] Heave Boys Heave With your back and bone Sing for the livin’ and the lost unknown Heave Boys Heave Till we all turn mud For the tide takes all And the tide won’t budge
Tags
folk, Gritty baritone male lead over stomping, unison-chant sea-shanty groove; frame drum and boot steps mark an oar-like pulse, with fiddle and concertina weaving minor-key lines. Verses stay close and narrative, call-and-response with rough gang vocals; choruses swell to full crew shouting, open-throated and raw. Gentle octave drone on low whistle and bowed bass underpins the last chorus for a darker, haunted lift., rhythmic, vocal, acoustic, ballad, shanty
Duration
3:11
Instrumental
No
Created
2/22/2026