“Ghost Ship” - a song about pirates
Well kind of about pirates… more like a pirate and his slow demise as he becomes aware that he has surrounded himself with less than reliable characters and directly tethered his well being to said characters with the foundational element of connection being stolen goods and nefarious dealings….
Story Pairing
I actually wrote this song from “Row Row Row Your Boat”. Really.
One of the first tunes I wrote and almost certainly the first one in drop D was this tune. I was playing around with different writing concepts and I liked the idea of taking a kids song and then re-writing it with an adult theme. The adult version of a row boat happily floating along a stream in my mind was a pirate ship sinking because the crew left and the captain was driven by greed.
There really isn’t any more to it than that. So instead I thought I would tell you about the Irish Breakfast that I have recently fallen in love with. This video was taken in a hotel in Killarney, Ireland. I was there for a music conference called Your Roots are Showing. It was a wonderful experience and I will have more to talk about when I finally get a song written inspired directly by Ireland. Until then I will let a few stories through here and there. Describing a breakfast isn’t really a story, but when I talk about beans in the video, I suppose I should elaborate somewhere.
The traditional Irish breakfast is as follows (and correct me if I'm wrong am wrong).
Black Pudding (aka blood sausage, and seriously, it’s great)
A fried egg or two
Sausage links
Streaky bacon
Beans
Mushrooms
Potato Cake
Tomato
A plate like that will fill you up! Have it with tea or coffee and a piece of toast or a croissant covered in Irish butter.
Now I am hungry, so I am going to stop my ramblings there and go make lunch. Enjoy the song, thank you for listening. As always, if you are getting into songwriting and want to chat more feel free to send me a message at bengagemusic@gmail.com. Take care and happy writing!
Song Structure
*Capo 3
Verse: D / F / G / A7
Pre-Chorus: A7 / D / A7 / D
Chorus: F / G / A7 / D
Voice Memos
No Notebook Page
Written in 2017
Lyrics
I spent days looking for, a river to run down
Wooden ship is sinking with its feet up off the ground
I sent days looking for, a river to run down
Left the shore and now we're sea floor bound
Well my crew couldn't stay, left in the last town
Women slinging whiskey is a better way to drown
My crew couldn't stay, left in the last town
Painted lips will give the run around
Barley merrily, waiting on a dream
Barley merrily, it ain't floating down a stream
It's a ghost ship, and a death wish, for me
Well my gold went away, a penny at a time
Rubies, pearls, and diamonds well them rocks were never mine
My gold went away, a penny at a time
The good lord must be giving me a sign
Barley merrily, waiting on a dream
Barley merrily, it ain't floating down a stream
It's a ghost ship, and a death wish, for me