The Mariners Revenge Song by The Decemberists Lyrics
[Verse 1]
We are two mariners, our ships' 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 eighteen
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-ohhhhh
[Verse 2]
You had a charming air, all cheap and debonair
My widowed mother found so sweet
And 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-ohhhhh
[Verse 3]
And then you disappeared, your gambling arrears
The only thing you left behind
And then the magistrate reclaimed our 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-ohhhhh
[Chorus]
"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"
*Death rattle*
[Verse 4]
It took me fifteen 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-ohhhhh
[Verse 5]
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-ohhhhh
[Chorus]
"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"
[Bridge]
"There is 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"
[Haunting, sailor-esque musical interlude lead by mandolin, accordion, tuba and violin]
[Verse 6]
And then that fateful night, we had you in our sight
After twenty 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
As before us grew the angry jaws of a giant whale
Oh, oh (Screaming)
Oh (Screaming)
[Verse 7]
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!
That 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
[Instrumental Outro]
We are two mariners, our ships' 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 eighteen
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-ohhhhh
[Verse 2]
You had a charming air, all cheap and debonair
My widowed mother found so sweet
And 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-ohhhhh
[Verse 3]
And then you disappeared, your gambling arrears
The only thing you left behind
And then the magistrate reclaimed our 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-ohhhhh
[Chorus]
"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"
*Death rattle*
[Verse 4]
It took me fifteen 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-ohhhhh
[Verse 5]
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-ohhhhh
[Chorus]
"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"
[Bridge]
"There is 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"
[Haunting, sailor-esque musical interlude lead by mandolin, accordion, tuba and violin]
[Verse 6]
And then that fateful night, we had you in our sight
After twenty 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
As before us grew the angry jaws of a giant whale
Oh, oh (Screaming)
Oh (Screaming)
[Verse 7]
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!
That 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
[Instrumental Outro]