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Текст с Bandcamp’a: “I heard Dave Gibb sing this mighty song at Strathaven Folk Club in 2014. Dave explained that he intended to write a song about slavery but it turned into a song about pirates. I have added the last verse about contemporary piracy (with his agreement), and if that verse causes offence, please blame me and not Dave Gibb. lyrics We ran molasses from Jamaica to the coast of Caroline Then we’d trade it for tobacco and we’d head home one more time But any ship low in the water that we’d meet along the way We would take with fire and murder, leave her burning in our wake The poor souls who went down with her would cry and scream in fear They would beg to us for mercy but they’d find no mercy here The colours on our main mast show allegiance to the King But the colours in our heart show we respect no living thing A white skull over crossed bones on a flag as black as Hades in the night We made the port of Bristol; they ask no questions there Our goods were sold for profit giving every man his share Which we then gave to the taverns and the gamblers and the whores Before we staggered up the gangway to head to sea once more The merchants of this city like to think they’re civilised But tear away the attitude and take a look inside You’ll see the Devil’s mark upon the heart and soul and brain Of every merchant who takes profit from the blood of other men A white skull over crossed bones on a flag as black as Hades in the night So we headed down to Africa with metal goods to trade For a cargo of Angolans who would to end their days as slaves We would sail them o’er the ocean; we would sail them into Hell Those who lived would reach Jamaica for the auctioneers to sell But the profits went to London and the homes of honest men Who believe that God is English and will always care for them So they go to church each Sunday to sing praises to his name But the Devil sits beside them knowing fine their souls are claimed By the white skull over crossed bones on a flag as black as Hades in the night We ran Molasses from Jamaica to the coast of Caroline The we’d trade it for tobacco and we’d head home one more time Our gold would swell the coffers of those rich and famous men Who sit in London’s guildhalls – merchants, bankers, kings, Sitting proud beneath the banners made of gold and silver thread Bought with slavery and murder and the souls of countless dead But still we sail the ocean, sail it time and time again Beneath colours that condemn us in the eyes of honest men A white skull over crossed bones on a flag as black as Hades in the night A white skull over crossed bones on a flag as black as Hades in the night Instrumental (5th chorus) Extra verse 5 The story that I’ve told you was two hundred years ago But nothing much has changed since then you’d be surprised to know Halliburton and Dick Cheney, George Bush and Tony Blair They know full well the money that was made out over there, Sixty thousand cluster bombs, one hundred thousand dead And the bankers and the oilmen sleeping easy in their beds The flag that flies above them may be scarlet white and blue But whoever they were fighting for it wasn’t me and you, Just a white skull over crossed bones on a flag as black as oil in the night. Just a white skull over crossed bones on a flag as black as hell in the night. Just a white skull over crossed bones on a flag as black as Hades in the night. from Heavy Duty - Ballads of the Unfree, released February 1, 2018 Song by Dave Gibb“
