The Derelict by Young E. Allison

The Derelict

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
The mate was fixed by the bosun's pike
The bosun brained with a marlinespike
And cookey's throat was marked belike
It had been gripped by fingers ten;
And there they lay, all good dead men
Like break o'day in a boozing ken
Yo ho ho and a bottle of rum!

Fifteen men of the whole ship's list
Yo ho ho and a bottle of rum!
Dead and be damned and the rest gone whist!
Yo ho ho and a bottle of rum!
The skipper lay with his nob in gore
Where the scullion's axe his cheek had shore
And the scullion he was stabbed times four
And there they lay, and the soggy skies
Dripped down in up-staring eyes
In murk sunset and foul sunrise
Yo ho ho and a bottle of rum!

Fifteen men of 'em stiff and stark
Yo ho ho and a bottle of rum!
Ten of the crew had the murder mark!
Yo ho ho and a bottle of rum!
Twas a cutlass swipe or an ounce of lead
Or a yawing hole in a battered head
And the scuppers' glut with a rotting red
And there they lay, aye, damn my eyes
Looking up at paradise
All souls bound just contrawise
Yo ho ho and a bottle of rum!

Fifteen men of 'em good and true -
Yo ho ho and a bottle of rum!
Ev'ry man jack could ha' sailed with Old Pew,
Yo ho ho and a bottle of rum!
There was chest on chest of Spanish gold
With a ton of plate in the middle hold
And the cabins riot of stuff untold,
And they lay there that took the plum
With sightless glare and their lips struck dumb
While we shared all by the rule of thumb,
Yo ho ho and a bottle of rum!

More was seen through a sternlight screen...
Yo ho ho and a bottle of rum
Chartings undoubt where a woman had been
Yo ho ho and a bottle of rum.
'Twas a flimsy shift on a bunker cot
With a dirk slit sheer through the bosom spot
And the lace stiff dry in a purplish blot
Oh was she wench or some shudderin' maid
That dared the knife and took the blade
By God! she had stuff for a plucky jade
Yo ho ho and a bottle of rum!

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.
We wrapped 'em all in a mains'l 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-you-well
And a sudden plunge in the sullen swell
Ten fathoms deep on the road to hell,
Yo ho ho and a bottle of rum!
--Young E. Allison

This poem is one of the greats of pirate literature. I had, of course, heard of it when I was a child -- I remember singing at least the chorus at a cub scout pack meeting in Livonia. When I started collecting Sea Chanties, I got a couple copies of this for my collection. I noticed pretty quickly that The Derelict was really composed -- rather than made up on the spot like most of the others were. Compare these lyrics to Drunken Sailor and you'll see what I mean. It has a beginning, a middle, and an end, and some clever rhymes and alliteration. Anyway, I thought it might be interesting to find out who had written it.

It's often attributed to Robert Louis Stevenson, and with good reason since the earliest references to it are in Treasure Island. There is more to the story, though. I have slightly edited the following from the Wikipedia article about the poem:

In 1883, Robert Louis Stevenson writes a Sea Shanty for Treasure Island. Though the full song is not reported. The chorus is given as:
"Fifteen men on the 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!"

The book mentions one other phrase of the song, near its end: "But one man of her crew alive, What put to sea with seventy-five."

In 1891 poet Young E. Allison (1853-1932) expanded the original lines from the novel (minus the "one man alive" line) into a poem he named "The Derelict" and published in the Louisville Courier-Journal.

In 1901 music was added to the lyrics of "The Derelict" for a Broadway rendition of Treasure Island.

In 1967 Disney found inspiration in "The Derelict" for the sea-song "Yo Ho, Yo Ho (A Pirate's Life for Me)" which was played in the "Pirates of the Caribbean" theme ride at Disneyland.

So there you have it. The true history of the song. Be sure to go see the Pirates movie next weekend for my birthday!