Run Up the Bones

Only a boy

He stood on the docks

And gazed out at Adventure

The kind that he sought

The promise of wealth

The stories and songs

At night he would dream

Of the open ocean

His father a beggar

His mother was gone

But the sea was the woman

For whom he did long

So he hopped on a vessel

Abandoned his home

And his heartbroken father

To beg all alone

Run up the Bones, boys, run up the Bones

For the king of the pirates drinking rum punch alone

Set adrift on a lifeboat on his crusty old throne

Staring out at the sea, wondering what lies below

Raise up a Toast, boys, raise up a Toast

For the Lord of the Damned and the Scourge of the Coast

Floating into the sunset, basking in the glow

Washing down all his Gold so he'll sink like a stone

Found out as a stow-away

Forced servitude

Yeah, aye

The Captain a Bastard

So vicious and cruel

Yeah, aye

Was worked like a dog

Given rats for his food

Yeah, aye

One day during lashes

He snapped and reacted

Attacking the Captain

He slashed him in two

It's a Mutiny

Drenched in Blood

It's a Mutiny

Had the crew line up.

And some of them joined him

And some of them died

The choice was their own

So why should he mind?

Set course for Due West

To see what he could find

With no Human Regard

For man, woman, or child

Run up the Bones, boys, run up the Bones

For the king of the pirates drinking rum punch alone

Set adrift on a lifeboat on his crusty old throne

Staring out at the sea, wondering what lies below

Raise up a Toast, boys, raise up a Toast

For the Lord of the Damned and the Scourge of the Coast

Floating into the sunset, basking in the glow

Washing down all his Gold so he'll sink like a stone

His reputation grew

As the living Terror of the Seas

For years he prowled the waves

Commandeering ships

'Til he'd built himself a fleet

An Armada and an Army

Of the worst Creeps who'd ever breathed

A looming Shadow of Horror

Carried on the fickle breeze

Til one particular Bloodbath

Left him weak at the knees and queasy

'Cause he ripped a Newborn Baby

From Its mother as it was feeding

As he tore it limb from limb with his teeth

Insanity had beat him

He left his men and fleet and

Cast out in a little dinghy

The dismembered Babe emblazoned on his brain

(Its mother distraught, she'd Screamed and Cried)

Hot Blood on his face in an Animal Rage

(Our Hero gone behind lifeless eyes)

Past the Point of Contrition, he'd finally snapped

(He'd lost his Wits, his Sense, his Mind)

Done Atrocious Things he could never take back

(And so he Left this World behind)

The angry sky black, a storm on the horizon

The Pirate King sat sipping Rum absentmindedly

Eating a pile of Gold, Jewels, and Diamonds

The wind whipped the waves ever higher and higher

Behind him a Sunset serenely did sink

(Magentas and Oranges streaked the Sky)

But he set for the Storm 'thout so much as a blink

(At Peace for the first time in his life)

Doubloons slid down his gullet to take him below

(A one-way ticket, his final ride)

To keep an appointment with Davy Jones

(He laughed as the skiff rocked side to side)

The Lightning cracked, the Thunder rolled

The Mad King screamed, as if to Goad

The Gods of Sea and Sky, and so

They did capsize his small row boat

Though evil deeds may take a toll

There's a Beautiful Death for an Ugly Soul