# Barrett's Privateers (damn good song that it is) **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [December 24, 2000, 4:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/barretts-privateers-damn-good-song-that-it-is/47062 "2000-12-24T04:13:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Upham](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Upham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Upham)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2000, 4:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/barretts-privateers-damn-good-song-that-it-is/47062/1 "2000-12-24T04:13:14Z")
Hey. I’m Bord and i want to see if i can remember all the words to this song. No need to post after this, hell, no reason to read it (though it’s a damn good song). It’s just something mundane and personal i feel i MUST share. Indeed, i do have a LOT of free time on my hands right now. Most of you have probably never heard this song anyway, very popular in Halifax during Last Call, also good for stumbelin’ home drunk… And away we go! (feel free to clap) Barrett’s Privateers OH! The year was 1778 How i wish i was in Sherbrook now! A letter of marque came from the king To the scummiest Vessel i’ve ever seen, God damn them all! (chorus) I was told we’d cruise the seas, For American gold We’d fire no guns, shed no tears I’m a broken man on a Halifax pier The last of Barrett’s Privateers (end of chorus) Well Old Sid Barrett cried the town How i wish i was in Sherbrook now! For 20 brave men, all fishermen who Would make for him the Antelope’s Crew God damn them all! (chorus) Well the Antelope Sloop was a sickening sight, How i wish i was in Sherbrook now! With a list to the port, and her sails in rags And the cook in the scuppers with the Staggers and Jags, God damn them all! (chorus) On the Queen’s birthday we put to sea How i wish i was in Sherbrook now! We were 91 days to Montego Bay Pumping like mad men all the way, God damn them all! (chorus) On the 93rd day we sailed again, How i wish i was in Sherbrook now! When a bloody great Yankee hove in sight With our cracked 4 pounders we made to fight God damn them all! (chorus) Oh the Yank was laid low down with gold How i wish i was in Sherbrook now! She was broad and fat and loose in stays But to catch 'er took the Antelope 2 whole days God damn them all! (chorus) And at length we lay 2 cables away How i wis i was in Sherbrook now! Our cracked 4 pounders made an awful din But with one fat ball the Yank stove us in God damn them all (chorus) Well the Antelope shook and pitched on her side How i wish i was in Sherbrook now! Barrett was smashed like a bowl of eggs And the main truck carried off both me legs GOD DAMN THEM ALL! (chorus) So here i lay in me 23rd year How i wish i was in Sherbrook now! It’s been 6 years since we sailed away And i just made Halifax yesterday God damn them all! (chorus) (Come on now, with feeeeeling, imagine there’s a shot of rum in yer gut) I was told we’d cruise the seas For American gold We’d fire no guns, shed no tears… I’m a broken man on a Halifax pier The last of Barrett’s privateers! Thank you, thank you Upham ---
**Author:** ![Catrandom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7bcc69/32.png) [@Catrandom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Catrandom)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2000, 4:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/barretts-privateers-damn-good-song-that-it-is/47062/2 "2000-12-24T04:21:14Z")
Hey, I’ve known that song for years, in the excellent version – with somewhat different lyrics – by the Corries. But it is a great song. ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2000, 5:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/barretts-privateers-damn-good-song-that-it-is/47062/3 "2000-12-24T05:11:26Z")
What a moment to not remember the name of that song SOMEBODY recorded a few years ago about the failed US invasion of Canada during the War of 1812. We could cry in our beer about military incompetence. A four-pounder? Were they trying to sink a DINGHY?!?!? ---
**Author:** ![matt\_mcl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ab992/32.png) [@matt\_mcl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/matt_mcl)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2000, 5:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/barretts-privateers-damn-good-song-that-it-is/47062/4 "2000-12-24T05:12:57Z")
Go Stan Rogers! Go Stan Rogers! I love Stan Rogers. Used to listen to him all the time as a kid. ---
**Author:** ![Finagle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b19c9b/32.png) [@Finagle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Finagle)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2000, 5:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/barretts-privateers-damn-good-song-that-it-is/47062/5 "2000-12-24T05:14:12Z")
Upham, the moderators tend to frown on posting copyrighted materials in their entirety, especially when you omit the author. In case anyone’s interested, the song’s by Stan Rogers and is available on several albums on Fogarty Cove records. Between the Breaks, Live and Home in Halifax are particularly good live recordings. ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2000, 5:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/barretts-privateers-damn-good-song-that-it-is/47062/6 "2000-12-24T05:16:49Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by matt\_mcl \* > \*\*I love Stan Rogers. Used to listen to him all the time as a kid. \*\* And I as an adult. “Northwest Passage” is one of my all-time favorites. ---
**Author:** ![matt\_mcl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ab992/32.png) [@matt\_mcl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/matt_mcl)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2000, 5:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/barretts-privateers-damn-good-song-that-it-is/47062/7 "2000-12-24T05:20:19Z")
Watch the field behind the plough turn to straight dark rows Feel the trickle in your toes, blow the dust cake from your nose And feel the tractor’s steady roar; every rod’s a gain, And there’s victory in every quarter mile… I often take these night shift walks when the foreman’s not around And turn my back on the cooling stack and make for open ground Far out beyond the tank farm fence where the gas flare makes no sound I forget the stink and I always think back to my eastern town… Ah for just one time I would take the Northwest Passage To find the hand of Franklin reaching for the Beaufort Sea Tracing one warm line through a land so wild and savage To make a Northwest Passage to the sea. And I just want to hold you closer than I’ve ever held anyone before You say you’ve been twice a wife and you’re through with life Ah but honey, what the hell’s it for? After twenty-three years you’d think I could find a way to let you know somehow That I want to see your smiling face forty-five years from now… Ah, lies, all those lines are telling wicked lies Lies, all lies… Too many lines there in that face Too many to erase or to disguise They must be telling lies… ---
**Author:** ![Upham](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Upham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Upham)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2000, 5:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/barretts-privateers-damn-good-song-that-it-is/47062/8 "2000-12-24T05:21:32Z")
I didn’t name the author because i wasn’tsure who it was, Stan Rogers did the classic verson, but as far as i was told it was a rendition of a old folk song. As well (the version i heard the most of) was by The Irish Rovers. I figured it would be like writing the lyrics to Hey Joe (covered by Jimi Hendrix, i’ve never heard anyone say who wrote it) or House of the Rising Sun (Bob Dylan and The Animals covered, no idea who wrote it) Plus, it’s one hell of a good song Dropzone: I’m not sure of the song you’re talking about, i know another about Americans plundering Charlottetown during the revolution… any good?) Upham ---
**Author:** ![matt\_mcl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ab992/32.png) [@matt\_mcl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/matt_mcl)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2000, 5:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/barretts-privateers-damn-good-song-that-it-is/47062/9 "2000-12-24T05:22:57Z")
(Note to mods: those are the choruses of five different songs, all by Stan Rogers. Specifically, “The Field Behind the Plough”, “The Idiot”, “Northwest Passage”, “Forty-five Years”, and “Lies”.) ---
**Author:** ![matt\_mcl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ab992/32.png) [@matt\_mcl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/matt_mcl)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2000, 5:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/barretts-privateers-damn-good-song-that-it-is/47062/10 "2000-12-24T05:25:38Z")
Yay! I just found all his greatest hits on Napster. It’s been eons since I’ve listened to them. ---
**Author:** ![matt\_mcl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ab992/32.png) [@matt\_mcl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/matt_mcl)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2000, 5:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/barretts-privateers-damn-good-song-that-it-is/47062/11 "2000-12-24T05:29:31Z")
I told that kid a hundred times, “Don’t take the lakes for granted They go from calm to a hundred knots so fast they seem enchanted” But tonight some red-eyed Wiarton girl lies staring at the wall For her lover’s gone into a white squall… -“White Squall” The tall fast queen of the Grand Banks fleet portrayed on every dime Knew hard work in her time, hard work in every line That tall fast ship of great renown still lifts unto the sky And who will know the Bluenose in the sun? -“Bluenose” Rise again, oh, rise again Though your heart it be broken and life about to end No matter what you’ve lost, be it a home, a love, a friend, Like the _Mary Ellen Carter_ rise again -“The _Mary Ellen Carter_” And crash the glass down, move with the tides Young friends and old whiskey are burning inside Crash the glass down, Fingal will rise with the moon… -“The Giant” ---
**Author:** ![Upham](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Upham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Upham)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2000, 5:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/barretts-privateers-damn-good-song-that-it-is/47062/12 "2000-12-24T05:33:07Z")
Mary Ellen Carter brings a tear to my East Coast Canadian eye… Rise Again, Rise again, that her name not be lost to the conscience of men… like the Mary Ellen Carter rise again! (pardon me a moment, wont you all…) ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2000, 5:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/barretts-privateers-damn-good-song-that-it-is/47062/13 "2000-12-24T05:34:31Z")
Dammit, **MattMcl** , I cried with loss when Stan died and you are going to get me going again. Ah, for a faster connection to make Napster worth the time. Or I could break down and buy the CDs. ---
**Author:** ![matt\_mcl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ab992/32.png) [@matt\_mcl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/matt_mcl)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2000, 5:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/barretts-privateers-damn-good-song-that-it-is/47062/14 "2000-12-24T05:36:32Z")
Upham: I know what you mean, b’y. I was conceived in Halifax and born in Saint John. ---
**Author:** ![StephenG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/7feea3/32.png) [@StephenG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StephenG)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2000, 5:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/barretts-privateers-damn-good-song-that-it-is/47062/15 "2000-12-24T05:40:51Z")
What a great song! Wednesday night is “East Coast Kitchen Party” at the Tir Nan Og (Irish pub here in Kingston), which means cheap pints of Keith’s – :lip smack: – and live music. This is one of the crowd pleasers, along with a bunch from Great Big Sea and other sources of which I remain ignorant. I think they sing the lyrics slightly differently, but this seems like a folk-type of song where that’s bound to happen. I’m gonna have to learn all the words… ---
**Author:** ![Upham](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Upham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Upham)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2000, 5:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/barretts-privateers-damn-good-song-that-it-is/47062/16 "2000-12-24T05:41:29Z")
Born and raised in Moncton, lived the life in Saint John and PEI I know i’ll leave, but i know it’ll be here when i come back ---
**Author:** ![matt\_mcl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ab992/32.png) [@matt\_mcl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/matt_mcl)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2000, 5:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/barretts-privateers-damn-good-song-that-it-is/47062/17 "2000-12-24T05:42:32Z")
Download complete! I’m listening to that wonderful voice belt out “Forty-five Years”. Ooh, that brings me back. ---
**Author:** ![Upham](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Upham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Upham)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2000, 5:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/barretts-privateers-damn-good-song-that-it-is/47062/18 "2000-12-24T05:54:26Z")
Keith’s is all very well and good But a good Moosehead Pale Ale… my god ---
**Author:** ![McKenna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/db5fbb/32.png) [@McKenna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/McKenna)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2000, 6:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/barretts-privateers-damn-good-song-that-it-is/47062/19 "2000-12-24T06:03:36Z")
Hey, I just heard a couple of young Canadian troubaders perform “Barrett’s Privateers” on the docks of Halifax this summer! It was August during the Busker’s Festival and they were between Cable Wharf and the CSS Acadia, I think. It was one of the things that reminded me that yes, I was in a foreign country! That and the toonies and Tim Hortons. Halifax reminded me of nothing more than Hamilton, Bermuda, with the same layout. No palm trees and more Titanic-related historical sites, though. ---
**Author:** ![lno](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/a8b319/32.png) [@lno](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lno)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2000, 6:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/barretts-privateers-damn-good-song-that-it-is/47062/20 "2000-12-24T06:08:38Z")
This past summer I met up with a bunch of friends in Seattle. We went out canoeing, and I ended up in a canoe with Andy and Lars, two Canadians. Of course, we started singing Barrett’s Privateers as we came alongside the canoes with American-only crews and tipped them over. Now that’s good fun. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/barretts-privateers-damn-good-song-that-it-is/47062.md?page=2)