Poems: New and Old (Newbolt)/A Chanty of the Emden

by Henry Newbolt

A Chanty of the Emden

 

The captain of the Emden
He spread his wireless net,
And told the honest British tramp
Where raiders might be met:
Where raiders might be met, my lads,
And where the coast was clear,
And there he sat like a crafty cat
And sang while they drew near—
"Now you come along with me, sirs,
You come along with me!
You've had your run, old England's done,
And it's time you were home from sea!"

The seamen of old England
They doubted his intent,
And when he hailed, "Abandon ship!"
They asked him what he meant:
They asked him what he meant, my lads,
The pirate and his crew,
But he said, "Stand by! your ship must die,
And it's luck you don't die too!
So you come along with me, sirs,
You come along with me:
We find our fun now yours is done,
And it's time you were home from sea!"

He took her, tramp or trader,
He sank her like a rock,
He stole her coal and sent her down
To Davy's deep-sea dock:
To Davy's deep-sea dock, my lads,
The finest craft afloat,
And as she went he still would sing
From the deck of his damned old boat—
"Now you come along with me, sirs,
You come along with me:
Your good ship's done with wind and sun,
And it's time you were home from sea!"

The captain of the Sydney
He got the word by chance;
Says he, "By all the Southern Stars,
We'll make the pirates dance:
We'll make the pirates dance, my lads,
That this mad work have made,
For no man knows how a hornpipe goes
Until the music's played.
So you come along with me, sirs,
You come along with me:
The game's not won till the rubber's done,
And it's time to be home from sea!"

The Sydney and the Emden
They went it shovel and tongs,
The Emden had her rights to prove,
The Sydney had her wrongs:
The Sydney had her wrongs, my lads,
And a crew of South Sea blues;
Their hearts were hot, and as they shot
They sang like kangaroos—
"Now you come along with me, sirs,
You come along with me:
You've had your fun, you ruddy old Hun,
And it's time you were home from sea!"

The Sydney she was straddled,
But the Emden she was strafed,
They knocked her guns and funnels out,
They fired her fore and aft:
They fired her fore and aft, my lads,
And while the beggar burned
They salved her crew to a tune they knew,
But never had rightly learned—
"Now you come along with me, sirs,
You come along with me:
We'll find you fun till the fighting's done
And the pirate's off the sea—
Till the pirate's off the sea, my lads,
Till the pirate's off the sea:
We'll find them fun till the fighting's done
And the pirate's off the sea!"