The lot of you might be better than me, better by far if youve known of this before.

The lot of you might be better than me, better by far if youve known of this before. And worse too if you never told me nor any other about it.

Now ive heard a-many a thing, and know now that now ive heard this all ive got to say is this, and treat it as prophecy or curse, or as close as your heartless heart will believe it to be, either way. That if youve heard one song of this your soul would find its way home from distant lands if there you die, and if you sing a verse when your ship goes down you’ll at least forever stay in the shallows, and not go down into the Deeps.

And if you know all the songs then the saints and the devils alike will pass you by and say to you ‘good day’ and give you fair warning if they have business with your kin. And if youre in a tavern thats plays the songs and youre in your tremors and horrors from smoke and drink, then Billy Foul would pass you by til morn. And hum the tunes and the whales and the fish come, same and it’ll keep your woman’s moon waxing, or waning, your man’s wood more oak than weepin’willow. And do your labours to ‘Nelson’s Blood’ and she’ll turn in half the time, and hang yourself by ‘Hanging Johnny’ and it’ll be fast too. And so many for before or after a bloody row.

These are good songs, good songs and the lot of us dont deserve them

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rogue’s_Gallery:_Pirate_Ballads,_Sea_Songs,_and_Chanteys

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