CONTENTS:
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The Roxburghe Ballads, Volume 6 By William Chappell, 1889
In our Appendix is given the original" Seaman's Song of Capt. Ward." He was by birth a 'Man of Kent,' and it is probable that his baptismal register is still extant, unsuspected by all save ourselves, in the church of his native town Faversham. Even his Christian name, John, had been forgotten in tradition. He was simply remembered as "Captain Ward, the Englishman and Pirate." We need not expect that one whom he had plundered, such as Andrew Barker, could be disposed to give a flattering report of Ward's life and conversation. We take his contemporary account cum grano salis, thankful for small mercies, not believing his word of Ward's cowardice, but admitting drunkenness and profanity. In the last year of Elizabeth's reign, at beginning of the seventeenth century, our John Ward was living at Plymouth, "a fellow poore, base, and of no esteeme, one as tattered in cloathes as he was ragged in conditions, the good past that he could boast of himselfe might bee, that hee was borne in a Towne called Feuersham in Kent, and there lived as a poore fisherman " (A True and certaine Report of . . . Captain Ward and Dansekar the two late famous Pirates, etc., 1609, p. 2). Barker says that "he was commonly called Jack Ward, one that was welcome into any tap-house, more for love of his coyne than love of his company, and all the reputation that his own crue held of him was but this, that he was a mad rascall, would sweare well, drinke stifle, stick too't, and like a good cocke he would neuer out of their damnable pit, if there were either money in his purse or credible chalke in his hoste's hand, being once in."
In the beginning of James I.'s reign, Ward obtained employment in a King's ship, The Lion's Whelpe. He ingratiated himself with the crew, persuaded them to trust him, and commence marauding for mutual profit, on land and sea. So he became their captain, and there is a long list of vessels that fell under his piratical attacks. His chief ally was "Dansekar the Dutchman," whose right name (according to Andrew Barker) was Simon Danser. Other chief associates were William Graves, Thomas Hussey, and John White. Danser, or Dansekar, had belonged to Flushing, whence, after having served the States, he went to Marseilles, and there left his wife and son. Among the vessels that he took, one was the Diamond, of London ; another, the Centurion (Ibid, p. 24). His wife tried to induce him to return, with the offer of pardon from the King of France if Dansekar would devote himself to his service.
The King of Spain sent an expedition against Ward and Dansekar, of twelve ships and eleven galleys. Captain Boniton, a Cornishman, and one Abraham Collings (ancestor of Jesse ?), were taken, and soon carried to Marseilles. Boniton was executed: others, sixty-four in all, were condemned for life to the galley a Barker in 1609 rejoiced in the hope that the Spaniards had thus far crippled Ward's power. Many a tad half-hour the pirates must have suffered at that date. Thus we read the quarto volume (with our ship cut of p. 386), telling of the Execution, of Nineteen late Pirates, Harris, Jennings, Longcastle [one of Ward's men], Domes, Haulsey, etc., executed on 22 December last [1609?] in Southwarke. This is dated January, 1609 [1609-1610?].
Ward appears to have been on good terms with tho Tunisians and Algerines: like Dansekar, he is said to have been a renegade to the faith. A inconstant Turkish woman, Voada, accused and ruined him.
The Famous Sea-Fight between Captain Ward and the Rainbow (Child A)
To the Tune of Captain Ward etc. [1]
STrike up, you lusty Gallants, with Musick and sound of Drum,
For we have descryed a Rover upon the Sea is come;
His name is Captain Ward, right well it doth appear,
There has not been such a Rover found out this thousand year.
For he hath sent unto our King, the sixth of January, [James I]
Desiring that he might come in, with all his Company;
"And if your King will let me come, till I my tale have told,
I will bestow for my ransome full thirty tun of gold." [2]
"O nay! O nay!" then said our King, "O nay, this may not be.
To yield to such a Rover my self will not agree;
He hath deceived the French-man, likewise the King of Spain,
And how can he be true to me, that hath been false to twain."
With that our King provided a Ship of worthy fame,
'Rainbow' she is called, if you would know her name;
Now the gallant Rainbow she rowes upon the Sea,
Five hundred gallant Seamen to bear her company.
The Dutch-man and the Spaniard she made them for to flee,
Also the bonny French-man, as she met him on the Sea.
When as this gallant Rainbow did come where Ward did lye,
"Where is the Captain of this Ship?" this gallant Rainbow did cry.
"O that am I," says Captain Ward, "there's no man bids me lye;
And if thou art the King's fair Ship, thou art welcome unto me."
"I'le tell thee what," says Rainbow, "our King is in great grief
That thou should'st lye upon the Sea, and play the arrant thief,
"And will not let our Merchants' ships pass as they did before,
Such tydings to our King is come, which grieves his heart full sore."
With that this gallant Rainbow she shot, out of her pride,
Full fifty gallant brass pieces, charged on every side.
And yet these gallant Shooters prevailed not a pin,
Though they were brass on the out-side, brave Ward was steel within.
"Shoot on, shoot on!" says Captain Ward, " your sport well pleaseth me;
And he that first gives over, shall yield unto the Sea.
"I never wrong'd on English Ship, but Turk and King of Spain,
For and the jovial Dutch-man, as I met on the Main.
II l had known your King hut one two-years before,
I would have saved brave Essex [5] life, whose death did grieve me sore
"Go, toll the King of England, go tell him thus from me,
If he reign King of all the Land, I will reign King at Sea."
With that the gallant Rainbow shot, and shot, and shot in vain,
And left the Rover's company, and return'd home again.
"Out Royal King of England, your Ship's return'd again;
For Ward's ship is so strong, it never will he tane."
"O everlasting!" says our King, " I have lost jewels three,
Which would have gone unto the Seas, and brought proud Ward to me!
"The first was Lord Clifford, Earl of Cumberland; [3]
The second was the Lord Mountjoy, as you shall understand;[4]
The third was brave Essex, from held would never flee; [5]
Which would 'a gone unto the Seas, and brought proud Ward to me!"
Licensed and entred.
London: Printed by and for W. Onley, and are to be sold by the Booksellers of Rye-corner and London-bridge. [Bagford duplicates.] [Black-letter, woodcut on p. 433. Copies vary. Original date, circa 1620.]
"We run-on half-lines into whole. Roxburghe. Coll. III. 56 is F. Coles's copy, printed in half stanzas. The other Roxb. are late Aldermary Churchyard reprints.
1. The tune marked (as though its own) as " Captain Ward'" is certainly not the same as that belonging to "The Seaman's Song of Captain Ward and Dansekar," which is The King's going to Bulloigne; nor is it probably the same as one bearing the name of Lusty Gallants. (See p 422, and Popular Music, p. 92.)
2 Similar offer of service, in atonement for lawless life, was made by Johnny Armstrong, in the "Good Night" ballad, when the King rejects his submission: "What wants the knave that a king should have, But the sword of honour and the crown?'' Pardon was offered to Dansekar (cf. p. 425).
3. George Clifford, 3rd Earl of Cumberland (Earldom conferred 18 June, 1525), who married Lady Margaret Russell in 1577, and distinguished himself as a naval commander, voyaging at his own expense, impoverishing his estate by horse-racing and tournaments. Separated from his wife, he died at the Duchy House, the Savoy, 30 October, 1605, aged forty-seven years complete. It was his great-grandfather whose early life, passed in obscurity, is so beautifully described by William Wordsworth, in his " Feast at Brougham Castle," printed in 1807 :—
Love had he found in huts where poor men lie;
His daily teachers had been woods and rills;
The silence that is in the starry sky.
The sleep that is among the lonely hills.
4 Charles Blount, Lord Mountjoye, who had been Lord-Leutenant of Ireland in the closing years of Elizabeth's reign. Knighted in 1586, he had served against the Spanish Armada. James I. re-appointed him as Lord-Lieutenant, made him a K.G., Master of the Ordnance, and Earl of Devonshire. His adulterous connection with lady Rich, continued many years, was made light of; but his marrying her, after she was divorced, caused so much indignation and scandal that his disgrace was believed to have shortened his life. He died in 1606, aged 43 years. He appears in "Kenilworth," as Sir Charles Blount.
5 Robert Devereux, 2nd earl of Essex, executed 25 February, Ash-Wednesday, 1609. See pp. 402 to 407; also vol. i. p. 664
-----------------------
This Bodleian Broadside is dated 1658 - 1664
A Seaman's Song of Captain Ward
(The famous pyrate of the world and an Englishman born)
The tune is .. The king is going to Bulloing
Gallants you must understand
Captain Ward of England
A pirate and a rover on the sea
Of late a simple fisherman
In the merry town of Feversham
Grows Famous in the world now every day
Printers:
Coles, F. (London); Vere, T. (London); Gilbertson, W. (London)
Date:
between 1658 and 1664
The same broadside contains a song (to the same tune) about "Dansekar the Dutch man, his robberies done at sea"
-----------------
There are two versions in the Bodleian Library, Ballads catalogue.
1. The Sea-Fight between Captain Ward and the Rainbow. Printed between 1711 and 1732, by T. Norris, on London Bridge, London. Douce Ballads 1(80b). Twelve verses each of eight short lines. "To the tune of Captain Ward, etc." In MS is added that the tune may be "I wish I was a fair maid as I am a bonny ..."
A Famous SEA-FIGHT BETWEEN Captain WARD and the RAINBOW
Strike up yon lofty gallants with musick and sound of drum,
For we have descryed a Rover upon the sea is come,
His name is Captain Ward, right well it doth appear,
There has not been such a Rover found out this thousand year....
Bodleian Ballads catalogue, Douce Ballads 1 (c80b), between 1711-1732.
Obviously the Bodleian sheet of 1711-1732 is a copy of Child 287A
2. Ward and the Pirates. Firth c12(6). Printed between 1849-1880, The Poets Box, Glasgow. Air- The Wild Rover. The Captain Ward given by Hall may be a condensation of this broadside of ten verses, 4 lines each.
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Seaman's Song of Dansekar the Dutchman,
His Robberies Done at Sea.
Tune: The King's Going to Boulogne (Bulloign)
Sing we (Seamen) now and than (sic)
Of Danseker the Dutchman,
whose gallant mind has won him great renown
To live on land he counts it safe,
But seeks to purchase greater grace
by roving on the Ocean up and down.
His heart is so aspiring,
That now his chief desiring,
is for to win himself a worthy name,
The Land has far too little ground,
The idea is of a larger bound,
and of a greater dignity and fame.
Now many a worthy gallant,
Of courage now most valiant, with him hath put their fortunes to the sea,
As the world about have heard
Of Densekar and English Ward,
and of their proud adventures every day.
There is not any Kingdom
In Turkey or in Christendom,
but by these pyrates have received loss:
Merchant men of every Land
Do daily in great danger stand,
and fear do much the Ocean main to cross.
They make Children fatherless,
Woeful widows in distress,
in shedding blood they took much delight,
Fathers they bereave of sons,
Regarding neither cries nor moans,
so much they joy to see a bloody fight.
They count it gallant bearing,
To hear the canons roaring,
and Musket shot to rattle in the sky:
Their gloates would be of the biggest,
To fight against the foes of Christ
and such as do our Christian faith deny.
But their cursed villainies,
And their bloody piracies,
are chiefly bent against our Christian friends
Some Christians so delight in evils
That they become the sons of Devils,
and for the same have many (?)warneful ends.
England suffers danger,
As well as any stranger,
Nations are alike unto this company,
Many English merchant men,
And of London now and then,
have tasted of their vile extremity.
London's Elizabeth
Of late these Rovers taken have
a ship well laden with merchandise,
The nimble Pearl and Charity
All ships of gallant bravery,
are by these Pyrates made a lawful prize.
The Trojan of London
With other ships many a one,
have stooped sail and (? yielded out of hand,
These pyrates they have shed their blood,
And the Turks have bought their goods
being all too weak their power to withstand.
Of Hull and Bonaventer,
Which was a great frequenter,
and passer of the straits to Barbary:
Both ship and men late taken were,
By Pyrates Ward and Dansekar
and brought by them into captivity.
English Ward and Dansekar,
Begin now to jar,
about dividing of their gotten goods,
Both ships and soldiers gather head,
Dansekar from Ward is fled,
so full of pride and malice are their bloods.
Ward does only promise,
To keep about rich Tunis,
and be Commander of those Turkish Seas,
But valiant Dutch-land Dansekar,
Doth hover near unto Angier,
and there his threatening colours now displays.
These Pyrates thus divided
By God is sure provided,
in secret sort(?) to work each others woe,
Such Wicked courses cannot stand,
The Devil thus puts in his hand,
And God will give them soon an overthrow.
Bodleian Ballads, Douce Ballads 2(199a); Wood 401(79) and other copies (hard to read). Printed by Coles, Vere and Wright, London, between 1663 and 1674.
-----------------
Captain Ward
Come all ye jolly mariners
That love to tak' a dram
I'll tell ye o' a robber
That o'er the seas did come.
He wrote a letter to his king
On the eleventh o' July,
To see if he wad accept o' him
For his jovial company.
"Oh na, oh na," says the king,
"Such things they canna be,
They tell me ye are a robber,
A robber on the sea."
He has built a bonnie ship,
An' sent her to the sea,
Wi' fower an' twenty mariners
To guard his bonnie ship wi'.
They sailed up an' they sailed doon,
Sae stately, blythe, an' free,
Till they spied the king's high Reindeer
Like a leviathan on the sea.
"Why lie ye here, ye tinker,
Ye silly coordly thief?
Why lie ye here, ye tinker,
An' hold oor king in grief?"
They fought from one in the morning
Till it was six at night,
Until the king's high Reindeer
Was forced to tak' her flight.
"Gang hame, gang hame, ye tinkers.
Tell ye your king fae me
Though he reign king upon good dry land,
I will reign king upon the sea."
From Scottish Folksinger, Buchan and Hall. The text from The Scottish Folksinger is, as has already been noted, that sent to Gavin Greig by Lizzie Crichton in 1908 (Greig-Duncan 39A).
The tune is from Alexander Robb of New Deer, who had only two verses, which he called Wallace and the Red Reiver (Greig-Duncan 39B).
Why lie ye here at anchor,
Ye muckle coordy thief?
Why lie ye here at anchor,
An' keep oor King in grief?
He has manned a bonnie ship,
And a ship o' muckle fame,
Called her the Flyin' Rainbow,
The Rainbow was her name.
The Greig-Duncan Folk Song Collection, I, 1981, No.39, p.88
--------------
Captain Ward
Roy Harris, Round Cape Horn, recorded 1974, in Topic TSCD499, 1998, first published in the LP Champions of Folly, Folk Songs & Ballads sung by Roy Harris, Topic 12TS256, 1975; based on the tune that Ewan MacColl said to have learned from his father.
Come all ye valiant seamen bold
With courage beat your drum
I'll tell you of a rover
That over the seas is come
His name it is bold Captain Ward
So quickly you shall hear
For such a rover there has not been
Or seen for many a year
On February the 7th day
A ship sailed from the West
With silks and satins loaded
And a cargo of the best
Till they met bold Captain Ward
Upon the watery main
He took from her the wealth and store
Then sent her back again
He wrote a letter to the Queen
On the fourteenth of July
To know of her if he might come
With all his company
To know of her if he might come
All England to behold
And for his pardon he would give
Five hundred pound of gold
Now, the Queen she got a ship built
A ship of noble fame
She was called The Rainbow,
You may have heard the name
She was called The Rainbow
And in the seas went she
With full five hundred seamen
To bear her company
Now when The Rainbow came on to
The place where Ward he did lay:
Where is the Admiral of your ship? -
The captain he did say
I'm here, I'm here, cried Captain Ward
My name I'll not deny
For if you are one of the Queen's ships,
You are welcome to pass by
Oh no, says gallant Rainbow
It grieves our Queen full sore
That her rich merchant ships can't pass
As they had done afore
Come on, come on, cried salt-sea Ward
I value you not a pin
For if you got brass for an outward show
Well I got steel within!
Oh, then the gallant Rainbow
She fired, she fired in vain
Till six and thirty of the men
All on the deck lay slain
Fight on, fight on, says salt-sea Ward
Your style so pleases me
I'll fight you for a month or two
For your master I must be
At eight o' clock in the morning
That bloody fight begun
It lasted till the evening
To the setting of the sun
Go home, go home, cried captain Ward
And tell your Queen from me
If she rules Queen upon dry land
I'll rule King over the sea
----------------------
Captain Ward
The Tannahill Weavers, Capernaum, Green Linnet GLCD 1146, 1994; based on the tune that Ewan MacColl said to have learned from his father.
Come all ye jolly mariners
That love to tak' a dram
I'll tell you of a robber
That o'er the sea did come
He wrote a letter to the king
On the eleventh o' July
To see if he wad accept o' him
For his jovial company
Na, na, says the king,
Oh that can never be,
They tell me you're a robber,
A robber on the sea.
He has built a bonnie ship
An' sent her to the sea
Wi' fower an' twenty mariners
To man his bonnie ship wi'
An' they sailed up an' they sailed doon
Sae stately, blythe an' free
Till they spied the king's high Reindeer
Like a leviathan on the sea.
Is it you there, ye tinker,
Ye silly coordly thief?
Why lie you there, ye tinker,
An' hold oor king in grief?
They fought from one in the morning
Till it was six at night
Until the king's high Reindeer
Was forced to tak' her flight
Gae hame, gae hame, ye tinkers!
Gae tell your king fae me:
Though he reign king upon good dry land,
I will reign king upon sea!
Come all ye jolly mariners
That love to tak' a dram
I'll tell you of a robber
That o'er the sea did come
He wrote a letter to the king
On the eleventh o' July
To see if he wad accept o' him
For his jovial company
Na, na, says the king,
Oh that can never be,
They tell me you're a robber,
A robber on the sea.
He has built a bonnie ship
An' sent her to the sea
Wi' fower an' twenty mariners
To man his bonnie ship wi'
------------------------
Captain Ward and the Rainbow
Ewan MacColl, The English and Scottish Popular Ballads Vol.2, F. J. Child Ballads sung by Ewan MacColl, Folkways Records FG 3510; based on the tune that Ewan MacColl said to have learned from his father.
Come all ye jolly mariners
That love to tak' a dram
I'll tell ye o' a robber
That o'er the seas did come
He wrote a letter to his king
On the eleventh o' July
To see if he would accept o' him
For his jovial company
O, no – O, no -Says the king,
Such things they canna be,
They tell me you are a robber,
A robber on the sea.
He has built a bonnie ship
And sent her to the sea
Wi' four an' twenty mariners
To guard his bonnie ship wi'
They sailed up and they sailed down
Sae stately, blythe and free
Till they spied the king's High Reindeer
Like a leviathon on the sea.
Why lie ye here, ye tinker?
Ye silly coordly thief
Why lie ye here, ye tinker,
And hold our king in grief?
They fought from one in the morning
Till it was six at night
Until the king's High Reindeer
Was forced to tak' her flight
Gang hame, gang hame, ye tinkers
Tell ye your king fae me:
Though he be king upon good dry land,
I will reign king upon the sea
Captain Ward and the Rainbow
Ewan MacColl, with John Faulkner, fiddle, on Ye Mariners All, The Critics Group, More Shanties and Forebitters, Argo ZDA 138, 1971; based on the tune that Ewan MacColl said to have learned from his father.
Come all ye jolly mariners
That love to tak' a dram
I'll tell ye o' a robber
That o'er the seas did come
He wrote a letter tae his king
On the eleventh o' July
To see if he would accept o' him
For his jovial company
O, no – O, no - Says the king
Such things they canna be
They tell me you are a robber
A robber on the sea
He has built a bonnie ship
And sent her tae the sea
Wi' four an' twenty mariners
To guard his bonnie ship wi'
They sailed up and they sailed doon
Sae stately, blythe and free
Till they spied the king's High Reindeer
Like a leviathon on the sea
Why lie ye here, ye tinker
Ye silly coordly thief?
Why lie ye here, ye tinker
And hold oor king in grief?
They fought frae yin in the morning
Till it was six at night
Until the king's High Reindeer
Was forced to tak' her flight
Gang hame, gang hame, ye tinkers
Tell ye your king fae me:
Though he be king upon good dry land
I will reign king on the sea
-----------------------
Ward the Pirate
Coope, Boyes and Simpson, Triple Echo, Songs collected by Ralph Vaughan Williams, George Butterworth and Percy Granger, No Masters Co-operative, NMCD22, 2005.
In the book Bushes and Briars, Folk Songs collected by Ralph Vaughan Williams, edited by Roy Palmer, there is the staff notation and the text to Ward the Pirate. The notes add that "this was also sung by Mr John Bayley of King's Lynn."
Malcolm Douglas: the set in Roy Palmer's Bushes and Briars. You need to refer also to the previous note (no 53, The Captain's Apprentice) to see that the singer was James Carter, a fisherman of North End, King's Lynn, Norfolk. The John Bayley referred to, also of King's Lynn, sang another version of the song for Vaughan Williams. So far as I know, that set has never been published; indeed, it isn't mentioned at all in Michael Kennedy's Index of Folk Songs Collected by Ralph Vaughan Williams, so it would be necessary to look at the MS books to see if it was even noted.
Palmer quotes Carter's text as printed in the Journal of the Folk-Song Society, II (8) 1906, 163-4; although no comment on provenance is made in the Journal, a note in Vaughan Williams' Folk Songs from the Eastern Counties (where the text is printed with only 5 verses and a few slight changes of wording) to the effect that "The above words have been completed partly from a Sussex version (sung to another tune) and partly from a printed copy" implies that RVW, as so often, got only part of the song on that occasion and re-constructed the rest later. He did get a set from Peter and Harriet Verrall (Horsham, Sussex), so perhaps that was part of it. I think that, too, is unpublished, so again the MSS may provide the only answer.
Come all you gallant seamen bold
All you that march to drum
Let's go and look for Captain Ward
For on the sea he roams
He is the biggest robber
That ever you did hear
There's not been such a robber
For above this hundred year
A ship was sailing from the east
And going to the west
Loaded with silks and satins
And velvets of the best
But meeting there with Captain Ward
It proved hard to maintain
He robbèd them of all their wealth
And bid them tell their king
On February's fourteenth day
He wrote unto our King
To know of him if he might come
And all his comp'ny bring
To know of him if he might come
Old England to behold
And for his pardon he would give
Five hundred tons of gold
O then the king provided
A ship of noble fame
She's called the "Royal Rainbow"
Perhaps you've heard her name
She was as well provided for
As any ship can be
Full thirteen hundred men on board
To bear her company
O then this gallant "Rainbow"
Came crossing o'er the main
Saying - "Yonder lies bold Captain Ward
And here we must remain"
"I'm here, I'm here" – cried Captain Ward
"My name I'll not deny
But if you are one of the King's fine ships
You are welcome to pass by"
"O no" – says gallant Rainbow
"It grieves our King full sore
That his rich merchant ships can't pass
As they have done before"
"Come on, come on" – cries Captain Ward
"I value you not a pin
For if you've got brass for an outward show
Then I've got steel within"
O then the gallant Rainbow
She fired, she fired in vain
Till six and thirty of her men
All on the deck was slain
"Fight on, fight on" - says Captain Ward
This sport well pleases me
For if you fight this month and more
Your master I shall be"
It was eight o'clock in the morning
When they began to fight
And so they did continue there
Till nine o'clock at night
"Go home, go home" - says Captain Ward
"And tell your king from me
If he reigns King on all the land
Ward will reign King at sea"
Ward the Pirate
Alfred Deller, Vaughan Williams, Folk Songs, Vanguard Classics 085073 71, first released 1959
Come all you gallant seamen bold
All you that march to drum
Let's go and look for Captain Ward
Far on the sea he roams
He is the biggest robber
That ever you did hear
There's not been such a robber
Found for above this hundred year
A ship was sailing from the east
And going to the west
Loaded with silks and satins
And velvets of the best
But meeting there with Captain Ward
It proved a bad meeting
He robbed them of all their wealth
And bid them tell their king
O then the king provided
A ship of noble fame
She's called the "Royal Rainbow"
If you would know her name
She was as well provided for
As any ship could be
Full thirteen hundred men on board
To bear her company
'Twas eight o'clock when they began
When they began to fight
And so they did continue
Till nine o'clock at night
"Fight on, fight on" says Captain Ward
This sport well pleases me
For if you fight this month or more
Your master I will be"
O then the gallant "Rainbow"
She fired, she fired in vain
Till six and thirty of her men
All on the deck were slain
"Go home, go home" says Captain Ward
"And tell your king for me
If he reigns king on all the land
Ward will reign king on sea"
Ward the Pirate
Peter Bellamy, Fair Annie (compilation from two original albums, Peter Bellamy & Fair Annie), Fellside FECD 187; the ballad is from Peter Belamy, first released as Green Linnet, Green Linnet, SIF 1001, 1975. From Vaughan Williams, collected in Norfolk.
Come all you gallant seamen bold
All you that march to drum
Let's go and look for Captain Ward
Far out on the sea he roams
For he is the biggest robber
That ever you did hear
There's not been such a robber found
In above this hundred year
Now a ship it was sailing from the east
And going to the west
Loaded with silks and satins
And velvets of the best
But in meeting there with Captain Ward
It was a sad meeting
For he robbed them of their wealth and store
And bid them tell their king
So it's then our king he builded
A ship of noted fame
She's call'd the Royal Rainbow
If you would know her name
And she was as well provided for
As any ship can be
With thirteen hundred men on board
To bear her company
And at eight o'clock in the morning
When they did begin to fight
And so they did continue there
Till nine o'clock at night
Fight on, fight on! - Cried Captain Ward
For this sport pleases me
But though you fight a month or more
Your master still I'll be
So it's then the Royal Rainbow, she fired
But she fired all in vain
Till six and sixty of her men
All on the decks lie slain
Go home, go home! - Cried Captain Ward
And tell your king from me:
Though he reigns king on all dry land
I'll reign king on the sea
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Captain Ward and the Rainbow
Cyril Poacher, Plenty of Thyme, Musical Traditions MTCD 303; song recorded in 1974
Her name it is gallant Rainbow
You might have heard her name
With four and twenty of the king's fine ships
To drive her back again
Go ye home, go ye home - cried Captain Ward
Your galliant Rainbow sail
With four and twenty of the king's fine men
To drive her back again.
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Captain Ward and the Rainbow
Dave Burland, in Dave Burland, Trailer LER 2082, 1972. From Gavin Greig's Last Leaves of Aberdeen Ballads and Ballad Airs.
Come all you jolly mariners
That loves to take a dram
I'll tell you of a robber bold
That o'er the seas did come
And he wrote a letter to his king
On the eleventh of July
To see if he would accept of him
For his jovial company
O, no, no - Says the king
Such things can never be
For I fear you are a robber
A robber on the sea
So he has built a bonnie ship
And sent her on to sea
Wi' four an' twenty mariners
To guard his bonnie ship wi'
And they've sailed up and they've sailed down
So stately, blythe and free
Until they spied the king's Reindeer
A-sailing on the sea
Why lie ye here, you tinkers?
Ye silly coordly thieves
Why lie ye here, you tinkers
And hold our king in grief?
And they fought from one o' clock in the morn
Till it was six at night
Until the king's High Reindeer
Was forced to take her flight
Go home, go home, you tinkers
And tell your king from me:
That tough he reign king upon good dry land
I will reign king upon sea
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Publications of the Navy Records Society - Volume 33 - Page 30
1908 [Charles Harding Firth]
THE FAMOUS SEA-FIGHT BETWEEN CAPTAIN WARD AND THE RAINBOW To the Tune of Captain Ward, etc.
Strike up, you lusty gallants, with musick and sound of drum:
For we have descry'd a rover upon the sea is come;
His name is Captain Ward, right well it doth appear
There has not been such a rover found out this thousand year;
For he hath sent unto our King, the sixth of January,
Desiring that he might come in, with all his company;
'And if your King will let me come, till I my tale have told,
I will bestow for my ransome full thirty tun of gold.'
'O nay ! O nay !' then said our King, 'O nay, this may not be,
To yield to such a rover my self will not agree;
He hath deceiv'd the French-man, likewise the King of Spain,
And how can he be true to me, that hath been false to twain?'
With that our King provided a ship of worthy fame;
Rainbow she is called, if you would know her name.
Now the gallant Rainbow she rowes upon the sea,
Five hundred gallant seamen to bear her company.
The Dutch-man and the Spaniard she made them for to flye,
Also the bonny French-man, as she met him on the sea.
When as this gallant Rainbow, did come where Ward did lye,
Where is the captain of this ship?' this gallant Rainbow did cry.
'O that am I,' says Captain Ward, 'there's no man bids me lye;
And if thou art the King's fair ship thou art welcome unto me.'
'l'le tell thee what,' says Rainbow, 'our King is in great grief
That thou should'st lye upon the sea and play the arrant thief,
'And will not let our merchants' ships pass, as they did before';
Such tydings to our King is come, which grieves his heart full sore.'
With that this gallant Rainbow she shot, out of her pride,
Full fifty gallant brass pieces, charged on every side.
And yet these gallant shooters prevailed not a pin;
Though they were brass on the out-side brave Ward was steel within.
'Shoot on, shoot on!' says Captain Ward; 'your sport well pleaseth me;
And he that first gives over, shall yield unto the sea.
'I never wrong'd an English ship, but Turk and King of Spain,
For and the jovial Dutch-man, as I met on the main.
If I had known your King but one two-years before,
I would have saved brave Essex life, whose death did grieve me sore.
'Go, tell the King of England, go tell him thus from me,
If he reign king of all the land, I will reign king at sea.'
With that the gallant Rainbow shot, and shot, and shot in vain,
And left the rover's company, and home return'd again.
'O Royal King of England, your ship's returned again;
For Wards ship is so strong it never will be ta'ne.'
'O everlasting !' says our King, ' I have lost jewels three,
Which would have gone into the seas and brought proud Ward to me!
'The first was Lord Clifford, Earl of Cumberland;
The second was the Lord Mountjoy, as you shall understand;
The third was brave Essex, from field would never flee;
Which would 'a gone unto the seas and brought proud Ward to me!'
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Publications, Volume 30 By Ballad Society
Note.—Virtually the genuine text of the original " Seaman's Song of Captain Ward," entered on the Stationers' Company Registers, 3 July, 1609; written before news of Ward's death arrived. "Captain Ward's fight with the Rainbow'" (p. 426) popularly displaced the present ballad, which vie are the first to reprint.
[Wood's Collection, 401, fol. 79; 402, fol. 39; Douce, II. 199; Euing, 327.]
Wt)i Seaman's* Song of Captain Ward, tfje famous Pgtate of tfje HMorlO, anti an English-man 38orn.
Tune, The King's going to Buttoign. [See pp. 422, et seq."\
GAllants, you must understand,
Captain Ward of England,
A Pyrate and a Rover on the Sea,
Of late a simple Fisherman
In the merry town of Feversham,
Grows famous in the world now every day.
From the Bay of Flimouth
Sayled he towards the South,
With many more of courage and of might,
Christian Princes have but few
Such Seamen, if that he and we were true,
And would but for his King and Country fight. 12
Lusty Ward adventurously
In the Straights of Barbary
Did make the Turkish Gallyes for to shake.
Bouncing cannons fiery hot
Spared not the Turks one jot, But of their lives great slaughter he did make. The Isknders of Malta,
With Argosies upon the Sea, Most proudly braved Ward unto his face, But soon their pride was overthrown,
And their treasures made his own. And all their men brought to a wofull case. 24 The wealthy ships of Venice
Afforded him great riches; Both gold and silver won he with his sword. Stately Spain and Portugal
Against him dare not bare up sail, But gave him all the title of a Lord. Golden seated Candy,
Famous France^ and Italy, With all the countries of the Eastern parts, If once their Ships his pride with-stood,
They surely all were cloath'd in blood, Such cruelty was plac'd within their hearts. 3g The riches he hath gain'd,
And by blood-shea obtained, Well may suffice for to maintain a King; His fellows all were valiant Wights,
Fit to be made Prince's Knights, But that their lives do base dishonors bring.
This wicked-gotten treasure
Doth him but little pleasure, The land consumes what they have got by sea, In drunkenness and letchery,
Filthy sins of sodomy, These evil-gotten goods do wast[e] away. 48 Such as live by thieving
Have seldome-times good ending, As by the deeds of Captain Ward is shown: Being drunk amongst his Drabs,
His nearest friends he sometimes stabs; Such wickednesse within his heart is grown. When stormy tempest riseth,
The Causer he despiseth, Still denies to pray unto-the Lord. He feareth neither God nor Devil,
His deeds are bad, his thoughts are evil, His onley trust is still upon his Sword. 60 Men of his own Country
He still abuseth vilely, Some back to back are cast into the waves; [N.B., cf. p. "97. Some are hewn in pieces small,
Some are shot against a wall; A slender number of their lives he saves. Of truth it is reported,
That he is strongly guarded By Turks that are not of a good belief; Wit and reason tells them
He trusteth not his country-men, But shews the right condition of a thief. 72 At Tunis in Barbary
Now he buildeth stately A gallant Palace and a Royal Place, Decked with delights most trim,
Fitter for a Prince than him, The which at last will prove to his disgrace. To make the world to wonder,
This Captain is Commander Of four-and-twenty mighty Ships of sayl, To bring in treasure from the sea
Into the markets every day: The which the Turks do buy up without fail. 81 His name and state so mounteth,
These countrey-men accounteth Him equal to the Nobles of that Land; But these his honours we shall find
Shortly blown up with the wind, Or prove like letters written in the sand. JFtnta.
London: Printed for F. Coles, T. Vtre, and William Gilbertson. [In Black-letter. Three cuts. Date of first issue, 3 July, 1609; seep. 422.] Vol. Ti. 3 E
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These are the tunes from Bronson's 'The Singing Tradition of Child's Popular Ballads':
X:1
T:Captain Ward
C:Sung by a fisherman - 1905
I:abc2nwc
M:4/4
L:1/8
K:C
z6G2|F2E2D2C2|E2F2G2c2|A2G2E2C2|D6"^|"G2|F2E2D2C2|E2F2G2c2|c2G2E3F|G6"^|"G2|c3A d2c2|B2A2G2(c3/2 B/2)|A2(G2E2)C2|D6"^|"C2|E2G2C2D2|E2G2c2G3/2 A/2|G2F2E C D2|C6z2
w:Come all you gal-lant sea-men bold, all you that march-y drumLet's go and look for Cap-tain Ward, for on the sea he roams.He is the big-gest rob-ber that ev_-er you_ did hear.There's not been such a rob-ber found out for a-bove this hun-dred year.
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X:2
T:THE JOLLY MARINER
C:sung by Miss L. Crighton - 1908
I:abc2nwc
M:6/8
L:1/8
K:G
z4z(D/2 A/2)|d2d c2c|A2A D2"^|"D|G2G E2D|C3-C2"^|"(B,/2 C/2)|D2D (E F G)|A2(d c) d "^|"c|A2A G2A|D3-D2z
w:Come_ all ye jol-ly mar-in-ersThat love to tak' a dram_I'll_ tell ye o'__ a rob_-berThat o'er the seas did come._
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X:3
T:Captain Ward and the Rainbow
C:Sung by Edward Holt 1927
I:abc2nwc
M:6/8
L:1/8
K:G
z4zD|F2G A2A|d2B G2"^|"A|d2d c2B|A3z2"^|"G|F2F (F A) (A/2 G/2)|(G E D) ^C2"^|"D|G2F D2D|D3z3
w:Go home, go home, cries Cap-tain Ward,And tell your king for me,If he reigns king_ on_ dry__ landIt's I'll reign king on sea.
|]
X:4
T:Captain Ward and the Rainbow
N:I've changed the text on this.MMario
I:abc2nwc
M:6/8
L:1/8
K:G
z4zD|G2G G2E|E2E D2"^|"D|G2D (G A) B|c3z"^|"(B c)|d2B (c B A)|G2E D2"^|"D D2D D E F|G3z2D|G2G G2E|E2E D2"^|"D|G2D (G A) B|c3z"^|"B c|d2B (c B) A|G2E D2"^|"D D2D (D E) F|G3z2
w:Our King (he) built (him-self) a ship,a ship 'twas of_ great fameThe_ Rain-bow she__ was call-ed,and the Rain-bow was her name:He rig-ged her and fit-ted herand sent her off_ to sea,With five hun-der-red_ bold mar-in-ersto bear her com_-pan-y.
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