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The Mariner's Revenge Song
The Decemberists
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๐ฌ๐ง English ยท Original
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Lyrics
Original
Translation
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So, we are gonna do a song that requires the view of the audience
A certain involvement
And that involvement is, we need you at a certain point of this song
To all collectively scream like you're being swallowed by a whale
Now, so that you don't do it just whenever you feel like
To start screaming like you're being followed by the whale through the entire song
We're gonna give you a signal, so you know exactly when to do it
And that signal will come from Chris Funk
Chris, come on
He's gonna give you the signal
And the signal is going to look like this
Up, wait for it
And there it is
So when you see that signal, you'll know to scream like being followed by a whale
Is that clear?
That's clear, alright, let's give it a trial run
If you wouldn't mind, Mr. Funk
One, two three, go
That'll do very nicely
Ladies and gentlemen, this is "The Mariner's Revenge Song"
We are two mariners, our ship's sole survivors
In this belly of a whale
Its ribs our ceiling beams, its guts our carpeting
I guess we have some time to kill
You may not remember me, I was a child of three
And you, a lad of 18
But I remember you, and I will relate to you
How our histories interweave
At the time you were a rake and a roustabout
Spending all your money on the whores and hounds, oh
You had a charming air, all cheap and debonair
My widowed mother found so sweet
So she took you in her sheets still warm with him
Now filled with filth and foul disease
As time wore on you proved a debt-ridden drunken mess
Leaving my mother a poor consumptive wretch, oh
And then you disappeared, your gambling arrears
The only thing you left behind
And then the magistrate reclaimed my small estate
And my poor mother lost her mind
Then, one day in spring, my dear sweet mother died
But before she did, I took her hand as she, dying, cried, oh-oh
Find him, bind him
Tie him to a pole and break
His fingers to splinters
Drag him to a hole until he
Wakes up naked, clawing at the ceiling of his grave
Hear the scream from the ceiling of his grave
ย
It took me 15 years to swallow all my tears
Among the urchins in the street
Until a priory took pity and hired me
To keep their vestry nice and neat
But, never once in the employ of these holy men
Did I ever, once turn my mind from the thought of revenge, oh-oh
One night I overheard the prior exchanging words
With a penitent whaler from the sea
The captain of his ship, who matched you toe to tip
Was known for wanton cruelty
The following day, I shipped to sea with a privateer
And in the whistle of the wind, I could almost hear, oh-oh
Find him, bind him
Tie him to a pole and break
His fingers to splinters
Drag him to a hole until he
Wakes up naked
Clawing at the ceiling of his grave
There is just one thing I must say to you
As you sail across the sea
Always, your mother will watch over you
As you avenge this wicked deed
ย
And then, that fateful night
We had you in our sight
After 20 months at sea
Your starboard flank abeam
I was getting my muskets clean
When came this rumbling from beneath
The ocean shook, the sky went black and the captain quailed
And before us grew, the angry jaws of a giant whale, oh-oh-oh
Don't know how I survived, the crew all was chewed alive
I must have slipped between his teeth
But, oh, what providence, what divine intelligence
You should survive as well as me
It gives my heart great joy to see your eyes fill with fear
So lean in close and I will whisper the last words you'll hear (oh-oh)
ย
Thanks everyone
ย
Alright
ย