The Ferdinand Mutiny

© Jon Horne 2005


Eb      Eb/D   Ab        Eb
In the bar at Black Suzanne's
    Ab       Cm7       Bb
The lowest house in Spanish Town
  Ab      Eb           Cm     Gm 
I went in search of fifteen hands
   Fm                  Bb
To sail the good ship Ferdinand
   Ab                  Eb    
I splashed some gold around
    Ab              Bb 
And told a merry story
Eb  Eb/D              Ab        Eb
Of all the treasures we had found
    Ab      Cm7       Bb   Eb
The women, wealth and glory

   F7            Bb7
My name is Judas Payne
       G7            C7
And I sail the Spanish Main
...C7...
At least that's what I told them
       F                Bb Ab Cm7  Bb
In the bar at Black Suzanne's

A Dutchman, name of Van Der Ijk
Banished from the Netherlands
Was first to sign away his right
To rest his feet on dry land
Soon I had fourteen more
Not one of them a free man
Servants, slaves and stevedores
With these I manned the Ferdinand

I let them bid farewell
To the whores they loved so well
Then marched them off to Kingston
With a pistol in each hand

We reached the empty merchant pinck
Tied up in the western dock
Crew and captain in the drink
Weighted down with ballast rocks
By the plank, I did board
My noble crew before me
I bid them sail, at point of sword
And reached for the captain's key

Look to the side
And wait for the tide
Pray to Poseidon
Or Saint Christopher to guide us

Double shifts for all the crew
A fair price for their liberty
My fifteen men, all brave and true
Can do the work of thirty
We'll strike fear in the hearts
Of captains, men and sailors
We shall be brethren of the coast
And we shall fly no colour

I flung open my cabin door
And stepped out on the forward deck
I heard a whisper in my ear
And felt a dagger at my neck
"Put your guns down at your feet
And do it very slowly
We're on our way to Martinique,
Men, this is a mutiny

Men, take a look
This is your new ship's cook
And when we get to Martinique
We'll sell him for a slave"

And so they locked me down below
And ordered me cook up a feast
I baked a loaf from tainted flour
And boiled up the poisoned meat
They took three hours to fall
While I hid in the galley
I pushed the stove against the door
So the bastards couldn't kill me

When at last I was alone
I threw the bodies in the sea
No need this time for ballast stones
Give the sharks a meal for free
With all of my might
I turned the Ferdinand around
Drift, I will, and I just might
Drift back into Kingston town

My name is Judas Payne
And I sail the Spanish main
And I am the captain
Of the good ship Ferdinand