The Polly privateer/The Polly Privateer; or Unfortunate Jack's Last Shift

The Polly Privateer; or Unfortunate
Jack’s last Shift.

———o———

Come all ye gallant Seamen,
and listen unto me,
While I relate a bloody fight,
was lately fought at sea,
When we set sail from Liverpool,
to the salt sea did steer,
To try our hard fortune,
in the Polly privateer.

On the 25th of December,
it being on Christmas day,
When we espied a large French ship,
To windward of us lay;
Our noble Captain view'd her,
and told her guns quite clear,
And said, cheer up, my British boys,
in the Polly privateer.

We fought them full four glasses,
our cannons they did roar,
And many a British seaman
lay bleeding in his gore;
Our noble Captain wounded,
by the loss of his leg, is clear,

But still he cried, fight on my boys,
in the Polly privateer.

Our Captain he lay bleeding,
and unto us did say,
Give her another broadside,
we'll show them British play;
Then we gave her a broadside,
also three British cheers,
And down her colours quickly came,
to the Polly privateer.

Now this prize we have taken,
from Dunkirk she set sail,
To take our British merchant ships,
upon the raging main,
Her name is the La Cæsar,
of thirty guns, is clear,
And to Liverpool she was brought, my boys,
by the Polly privateer.

The Polly she had twenty killed,
the La Cæsar forty-one,
Which causes many a mother cry,
alas! my darling son;
Be kind unto those widows
that are left in distress,
And also their dear children,
who are left fatherless.