Long Time Sailing
Pirate Jenny Lyrics


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We′ve been a long time sailing on a ship on the sea
Just the crew and me
And Scabby makes three
'Till we came upon a land that we don′t understand
With mighty-money towers and ever-burning candles
So we called it lands-ho, and threw a rope around the pier
Of this stone covered city with a roman-like-appear
We saw this guy walking, so we shouted to the man
"What's the land of this port," and he said, "Portland"

So we chuckled as we buckled our bootstraps and stumbled
To the nearest bar so we could play some darts
When Scabby gives the order to tear the place apart
Then we heard a sound that nearly stopped our hearts

We heard a young man singing with the passion of the sea
Heard a guitar screaming like a dagger in the belly
And a big bass cannon all a trembling spine
Brought the drumming of gunshots echoed in our minds
And for the very first moment
There was something more fulfilling
Than showing all the hatred of our lives by killing
The last smoke rang from the bottomless hole
We decided to stop robbing shits and play rock and roll

So we chuckled as we buckled our bootstraps and stumbled
To the nearest bar so we could play our part
When Scabby gives the order to tear the place apart
I wouldn't hang around if you were smart

So we chuckled as we buckled our bootstraps and stumbled
To the nearest bar so we could play our part
When Scabby gives the order to tear the place apart
I wouldn′t hang around if you were smart

We heard a young man singing with the passion of the sea
Heard a guitar screaming like a dagger in the belly
And a big bass cannon all a trembling spine
Brought the drumming of gunshots echoed in our minds
And for the very first moment
There was something more fulfilling
Than showing all the hatred of our lives by killing
The last smoke rang from the bottomless hole
We decided to stop robbing shits and play rock and roll

So we chuckled as we buckled our bootstraps and stumbled
To the nearest bar so we could play our part




When Scabby gives the order to tear the place apart
I wouldn′t hang around if you were smart

Overall Meaning

"Long Time Sailing" by Pirate Jenny is a song about a group of sailors who have been at sea for a long time and come across a land they don't understand. They throw a rope around the pier, and upon exploring the city, they come across a young man singing with the passion of the sea. The music is so powerful that the sailors decide to abandon their lives of piracy and turn to playing rock and roll instead. The song is a testament to the power of music in changing people's lives.


The lyrics of the song are rich in imagery and symbolism. The "mighty-money towers and ever-burning candles" represent the materialism and greed of modern society, while the "young man singing with the passion of the sea" represents the power of music to transcend these material concerns and reach people on a deeper level. The "drumming of gunshots echoed in our minds" represents the violence and hatred that the sailors have experienced in their lives.


Line by Line Meaning

We've been a long time sailing on a ship on the sea
It's been a while since we've set sail on this ship, just us and the crew.


Just the crew and me
We're the only ones on this ship, it's just us against the sea.


And Scabby makes three
Our crew is small, just three of us against the vast ocean.


'Till we came upon a land that we don't understand
We stumbled upon a strange land that we don't know anything about.


With mighty-money towers and ever-burning candles
This land is full of towering buildings and burning candles that never go out.


So we called it lands-ho, and threw a rope around the pier
We decided to dock our ship and explore this new land, throwing our rope around the pier to tie ourselves down.


Of this stone covered city with a roman-like-appear
The city we've docked at is covered in stone, and has a distinctly Roman appearance.


We saw this guy walking, so we shouted to the man
We noticed a man walking nearby, so we called out to him to ask for information about the city.


"What's the land of this port," and he said, "Portland"
We asked him where we were, and he told us it was Portland.


Then we heard a sound that nearly stopped our hearts
We heard a sound that scared us so much, it almost stopped our hearts from beating.


We heard a young man singing with the passion of the sea
We heard a young man singing with so much passion, it was like he was singing about the sea itself.


Heard a guitar screaming like a dagger in the belly
The guitar was screaming so loudly, it felt like a knife being plunged into our stomachs.


And a big bass cannon all a trembling spine
The bass was so heavy and powerful, it shook our bones and made our spines tremble.


Brought the drumming of gunshots echoed in our minds
The beats were so strong, they sounded like gunshots echoing in our minds.


And for the very first moment
For the first time in a long time,


There was something more fulfilling
We found something that gave us more meaning,


Than showing all the hatred of our lives by killing
Instead of expressing our hatred through violence and killing,


The last smoke rang from the bottomless hole
The last smoke rose from the endless pit of our destructive ways.


We decided to stop robbing shits and play rock and roll
We made the decision to stop being thieves and start playing music, specifically rock and roll.


I wouldn't hang around if you were smart
If I were you, I wouldn't stick around for what's about to happen next.




Contributed by Maria P. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
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