THE CAPTAIN'S DAUGHTER (2007)
(v1)
The men of the Mary Rose were the finest
To sail the ocean blue
The captain marveled he never had seen
A more congenial crew
The captain’s daughter wearily smiled
And leaned against the rail
Proud of her efforts to keep the shipmen
Eager to hoist their sails
(chorus)
Plow, plow
Across the water
Plow, plow
The captain’s daughter
Could a crew be happier, do you suppose,
Then the satisfied men of the Mary Rose?
(v2)
The captain kept his daughter at sea
From Dunkirk to Dakar
Her legs were quite as widely bowed
As any common tar
Her bodice had been rigged to stand
Upright despite the weight
And her skirts were quite enough to admit
The bosun and his mate
(chorus) Plow, plow…
(v3)
From dusk until the break of day
The captain’s daughter toiled
Bending the rudder fore and aft
And keeping the bowsprit oiled
She visited each berth below
And never cried ’avast’
And when morning came, you’d always find her
Kneeling before the mast
(chorus) Plow, plow…
(v4)
When the captain cried All Hands on Deck
The crew got up their hopes
But his daughter was with the cabin boy
Showing him the ropes
When the boy has mastered several knots
She gave the lad a crown
And she asked him to go up above
And send the coxswain down
(chorus) Plow, plow…
(v5)
The Mary Rose went many miles
To the Oriental seas
They met up with a chinaman
With good to trade, said he
He gave the captain ivory and jade
Which filled a pearl-inlaid trunk
And he let the captain’s daughter
Take a ride on his Chinese junk
(chorus) Plow, plow…
(v6)
The pirate ship went out in search
Of booty, large and small
They sailed along the Mary Rose
To make a booty call
The captain’s daughter went aboard,
The pirates cried ”Yo ho!”
They gave her a jolly rogering
And sent her back aglow
(chorus) Plow, plow…
(v7)
The Mary Rose put into port
To lay in some supplies
And the doxies of the dock lined up
Their wares to advertise
They saw it was the Mary Rose
And futile was their quest
So the harbor harlots left the dock
And got a good night’s rest
(chorus) Plow, plow…
(v8)
The captain knew a sailor’s life
Was difficult and rough
But before each voyage she would say
She hadn’t had enough
She loved the pitch, she loved the yaw
She loved the heave and ho
She loved the men who played the pipes
And helping them to blow
(chorus) Plow, plow…
©2007 Z. Mulls
This lyric is registered with the U.S. Copyright Office as part of the collection THE COLLECTED LYRICS OF Z. MULLS Volume Two 2007
This was commissioned by "The Interpreters", a two-person act at the Maryland Renaissance Faire. They sing bawdy and suggestive songs at the tavern.
So this song was written for a particular setting, and is in keeping with other songs done there -- quite un-PC, quite offensive, and full of sexual innuendo.
There was a song on the Muses’ Muse a couple of years ago, a punk-rock song about the crew of the Mary Rose. I took the name of the ship (though none of the song details) for my own crew.
The song is currently in performance at the Maryland Renaissance Festival. The Interpreters CD, "Be Gentle..." is available at the Festival, and contains the song; it is available on CDBaby.
I’m including a one-minute clip so you can get the idea.
