Barrett's Privateers
Alestrom/Alestorm Lyrics

Oh, the year was 1778
The story takes place in 1778.

HOW I WISH I WAS IN SHERBROOKE NOW!
The singer wishes he could be in Sherbrooke instead of Halifax where he is now.

A letter of marque came from the king
The king issued a letter of marque, which granted permission to attack and capture enemy ships.

To the scummiest vessel I'd ever seen
The artist was assigned to a very poor-quality ship.

God damn them all!
The artist is angry and blames everyone.

I was told we'd cruise the seas for American gold
The singer was promised that they would get rich by capturing American ships carrying gold.

We'd fire no guns-shed no tears
The singer was told that their mission would be peaceful and they would not have to fight anyone.

Now I'm a broken man on a Halifax pier
The artist is now a broken man, unable to move on a pier in Halifax.

The last of Barrett's Privateers
The artist is the last surviving member of Barrett's crew.

Oh, Elcid Barrett cried the town
The town cried for Elcid Barrett, who was a respected member of the community.

For twenty brave men all fishermen who
Elcid Barrett gathered a crew of twenty tough fishermen.

would make for him the Antelope's crew
They agreed to make the crew and take control of the Antelope, a valuable American ship.

The Antelope sloop was a sickening sight
The Antelope was in terrible condition when they captured it.

She'd a list to the port and her sails in rags
The Antelope was listing to one side and had torn sails.

And the cook in scuppers with the staggers and the jags
The cook was lying on the ground, drunk and unable to stand up straight.

On the King's birthday we put to sea
They set sail on the king's birthday.

We were 91 days to Montego Bay
It took them 91 days to reach their destination, Montego Bay.

Pumping like madmen all the way
They had to pump water out of the ship constantly to keep it afloat.

On the 96th day we sailed again
After a brief stop, they set sail again on the 96th day.

When a bloody great Yankee hove in sight
They spotted a large and powerful American ship.

With our cracked four pounders we made to fight
They prepared to fight with their small, outdated guns.

The Yankee lay low down with gold
The American ship was heavily laden with gold.

She was broad and fat and loose in the stays
The American ship was large and slow and had difficulty changing direction.

But to catch her took the Antelope two whole days
It took them two days to finally catch up to the American ship.

Then at length we stood two cables away
They finally caught up to the American ship, which was just two ship lengths away.

Our cracked four pounders made an awful din
Their outdated guns made a loud noise when fired.

But with one fat ball the Yank stove us in
The American ship fired one cannonball, which hit and sank the Antelope.

The Antelope shook and pitched on her side
The Antelope was violently thrown around by the impact of the cannonball.

Barrett was smashed like a bowl of eggs
Elcid Barrett was killed, violently and messily crushed.

And the Maintruck carried off both me legs
The singer lost both of his legs in the attack.

So here I lay in my 23rd year
The singer is now 23 years old.

It's been 6 years since we sailed away
It has been 6 years since they set sail on their mission.

And I just made Halifax yesterday
The artist arrived in Halifax just recently.