The Pirate Song or Derelict Song

The Derelict (Fifteen Men On A Dead Man's Chest) -
(Traditional/arranged Wilhelm) NOTE: UPDATED VERSION - This is the
song sung by the pirates in Robert Louis Stevenson's book, Treasure
Island. A dead sailor's sea chest was generally up for grabs hence
a derelict vessel was known as a 'dead man's chest'. - The San
Francisco connection is that Stevenson was a resident of the city.
In the 19th century, Pacific St. between Kearny St. and Montgomery
St., known as 'the Barbary Coast', was the most lawless place in
San Francisco. Hoodlums ruled. Sailors who patronized the bars and
deadfalls often had chloral hydrate slipped into their drinks and
woke up on a ship bound for Shanghai. - Mike Wilhelm - From: Back
on the Barbary Coast Lead Vocal - Chris Wilson - Acoustic 12, back
up vocal - Mike Wilhelm - Acoustic guitar, back up vocal - James
Ferrell - Drums, back up vocal - Danny Mihm - The skipper lay with
his head in gore, The scullion's axe his head had shore; The
scullion, he was stabbed times four And there they lay and the
soggy skies Dripped down in their upstaring eyes; In murk sunset
and foul sunrise! Yo ho ho and a bottle of rum! Chorus: Fifteen men
on a dead man's chest, Yo ho ho and a bottle of rum! Drink and the
Devil had done for the rest, Yo ho ho and a bottle of rum! 'Twas a
cutlass swipe or an ounce of lead Or a gaping hole in a battered
head And the scuppers glut of a rotting red And there they lay, ah
damn their eyes! Looking up at Paradise, Their souls just gone the
contrawise! Yo ho ho and a bottle of rum! Repeat chorus A flimsy
girl on a bunker cot With a dirk slit sheer through the bosom spot
And the lace stif-dry in a purplish rot, Oh, was she wench or was
she jade Or was she just a shuddering maid? She dared the knife and
took the blade! Yo ho ho and a bottle of rum! Repeat chorus We
wrapped 'em all in a mainsail tight With twice ten turns of a
hawser's bight And we heaved 'em over and out of sight With a yo
heave ho and a fare ye well, A sullen plunge in a sullen swell, Ten
fathoms down on the road to Hell! Yo ho ho and a bottle of rum!