Rapier and the Wave

From the gallows the skeleton key passed from my father to me

He said it would guide me home but he never explained it to me

And in the tavern I was a wretch; I’d sell you my hat for your last swig of ale

I awoke from a blackout in uniform under a sail

And on that frigate, three days from land

I raised my right hand

For the promise of rum and a meal

I took up their steel

And I realized I was serving the crown that had driven the People underground

What made me take the oath and risk an early grave?

It was only to live another day

And I know I will never be saved for I live by the Crown and the Wave

And I know I will never be saved for I live by the Rapier and the Wave

We were listing hard to port

I awoke to a ship full of plague

The rocks approaching, I told the captain

He laughed blood and sent me away

With a twist I opened the key

At the edge of the sea

A map in my grandfather’s hand

With a star and an ‘X’ in the sand

And I realized I was serving the Crown that had hunted my grandfather down

What made me break my oath and jump into the waves?

It was only to live another day

And I know I will never be saved for I live by the Rapier and the Wave

And I know I will never be enslaved for I live by the Rapier and the Wave

With this black pearl in my ear

And a crew that has mastered its fear

We seek out an island with secrets beneath in the sand

In battle our sword-arms have been forged

By mutiny our crew is enlarged

Our blood has turned to fire and rum

And the war on the Armada has begun

And since I started hunting the Crown, it is many a man I have drowned

What makes my swear an oath and leap into the fray?

In revenge for all the days they stole away

And I know I will never be saved for I live by the Rapier and the Wave

But I know I will never be enslaved for I live by the Rapier and the Wave