Admiral Benbow (1)
'T was of an Admiral Called Benbow by his name He fought on the raging
main You must know Oh, the ship rocks up and down And the shots are flying round The enemy tumbling down There
they lay, there they lay
The ship rocks up and down And the shots are flying round The enemy tumbling down There
they lay, there they lay
'T was Reuben and Benbow Fought the French, fought the French 'T was Reuben and Benbow Fought
the French, fought the French Down on his old stump he fell And so loudly he did call Fight you on, my English lads 'Tis
my lot, 'tis my lot
Down on his old stump he fell And so loudly he did call Fight you on, my English lads 'Tis
my lot, 'tis my lot
When the doctor dressed his wounds Benbow cried, Benbow cried When the doctor dressed his
wounds Benbow cried, Let a bed be fetched in haste On the quarterdeck be placed That the enemy I might face
'Til I die, 'til I die
Let a bed be fetched in haste On the quarterdeck be placed, That the enemy I might
face 'Til I die, 'til I die
On Tuesday morning last Benbow died, Benbow died On Tuesday morning last Benbow
died What a shocking sight to see When Benbow was carried away He was carried to Kingston church There he lay,
there he lay
What a shocking sight to see When Benbow was carried away He was carried to Kingston church There
he lay, there he lay
Paul Clayton, & Sailing Songs, Tradition TCD 1064 (original LP release: Whaling & Sailing Songs from the days
of Moby Dick, Tradition Records TLP 1005, 1956)
ADMIRAL BENBOW (2)
Come all ye seamen bold, and draw near And draw near Come
all ye seamen bold, and draw near It is of an admiral's fame O brave Benbow was his name How he fought all on the
main You shall hear, you shall hear.
Brave Benbow he set sail, for to fight For to fight Brave Benbow he set
sail, for to fight. Brave Benbow he set sail, With a fine and pleasant gale But his captains they turn'd tail In
a fright, in a fright.
Says Kirby unto Wade, "We will run, We will run." Says Kirby unto Wade, "We will run. For
I value no disgrace Or the losing of my place But the enemy I won't face Nor his guns, nor his guns."
Then
Ruby and Benbow fought the French Fought the French, Then Ruby and Benbow fought the French. They fought them up
and down 'Til the blood came trickling down 'Til the blood came trickling down Where they lay, where they lay.
Brave
Benbow lost his legs by chain shot By chain shot, Brave Benbow lost his legs by chain shot. Brave Benbow lost his
legs And all on his stumps he begs Fight on, my English lads 'Tis our lot, 'tis our lot.
The surgeon dress'd
his wounds, cries Benbow Cries Benbow, The surgeon dress'd his wounds, cries Benbow. "Let a cradle now in haste On
the quarterdeck be placed, That the enemy I may face 'Til I die, 'til I die.
From English Folk Songs,
Sharp
ADMIRAL BENBOW (3)
Come all you seamen bold, landed here, landed here, It
is of an Admiral brave called Benbow by his name, How he ploughed the raging main You shall hear, you shall hear.
Last
Tuesday morning last, Benbow sailed, Benbow sailed, What a sweet and pleasant gale when Benbow he set sail And the enemy
they turned tail In a fright, in a fright.
Great Reuben and Benbow fought the French, fought the French, See
the boats go up and down and the bullets whizzing round And the enemy they knocked down, There they lie, there they
lie.
Oh, Benbow lost his legs, by chain-slot, by chain-shot, Down on his stumps did fall and so loud for mercy called, Oh,
fight on my British tars, It is my lot, it is my lot.
When the doctor dressed the wounds Benbow cried, Benbow
cried, Oh, pray pick me up in haste to the quarter deck my place That the enemy I might face Until I die, until I
die.
Last Tuesday morning last, Benbow died, Benbow died, What a shocking sight to see when they carried him away They
carried him to Se'm's'on church There he lays, there he lays.
Printed in The Copper Family Songbook
- A Living Tradition
ADMIRAL BENBOW (4)
We sailed from Virginia and thence to Fayall Where we watered our ships and then we weighed all Full in view on the
seas, boys, seven sails we did espy So we mannéd our capstans and weighed speedily.
Now the first we come up on was a brigantine sloop And we asked if the others was as big as they looked Ah, but turning
to windward, as near as we could lie We saw there were ten men of war cruising by.
We drew up our squadron in very nice line And so boldly we fought them for full four hours time But the day being
spent, boys, and night a-coming on We left them alone until early next morn.
Now the very next morning the engagement proved hot And brave Admiral Benbow received a chance* shot And as he lay
wounded to his merry men he did say, "Take me up in your arms, boys, and carry me away!"
Oh, the guns they did rattle and the bullets did fly, But brave Admiral Benbow for rout would not cry; "Take me down
to my cabin where there's ease for my smarts, If my merry men see me, it would sure break their hearts."
Now, the very next morning at the break of the day They hoisted their topsails and so bore away; We bore to Port
Royal, where the people flocked much To see Admiral Benbow buried in Kingston Church.
So come all you brave fellows, wherever you've been, Let us drink a good health to the King and the Queen, And another
good health to the girls that we know, And a third in remembrance of great Admiral Benbow.
version of Admiral Benbow as done by June Tabor on the "A Cut Above" recording with Martin Simpson
ALTERNATE |
|
Here is a link to discussion of various versions of Admiral Benbow songs.
contact: bpbenbow@hotmail.com
Katherine D. Benbow's website
National Maritime Museum
|