116. Captain Kidd

 

Il6

Captain Kidd

For the history of this pirate song, see Mackenzie's headnote,
BSSNS 278. It does not often appear as a collector's item, prob-
ably because it is so generally familiar. It has however been re-
ported, since Mackenzie's book appeared, from Massachusetts
(FSONE 131-4), from Florida (FSF 51-2), and from Michigan
(BSSM 318-19). The traditional texts vary considerably.

'Captain Kidd.' Obtained by L. W. Anderson from Mildred Harris as
sung by her father, Silvanius Harris, of Nag's Head, Dare county.

1 My name is Robert Kidd,
And God's lav^^s I did forbid.
I murdered William More,
Also a thousand more,

And I sunk them in the gore.

2 My mate was taken sick and died.

He begged me to stop to save my hide.
I stopped in a harbor for two weeks,
But I went to sea at last.

3 I had a Bible from my father's great command.
And I sunk it in the sand.

For him I did not fear
As I sail, as I sail.

4 One morning at the peek of day
I spied sixteen ships at sea.

I called my crew together and told them
There were sixteen ships at sea
And that was too many for me.

5 Come all you young and old,
You are welcome to my gold.
For this I've lost my soul
As I sail, as I sail.

From another informant, Fred Perry of Nag's Head, Mr. Anderson got
another version of the first stanza, nearer to the customary form:

My name was Robert Kidd, as I sailed, as I sailed.

My name was Robert Kidd, as I sailed ;

So wickedly I did, God's laws I did forbid, as I sailed.

Another text, reported by J. Frederick Doering, then of Duke Univer-
sity, as "heard in Toronto, Ontario," is not entered here as not repre-
senting North Carolina tradition.