Pillaging, Plundering Pirate (Dead Man’s Gallows)
(words & music by Paul Espinoza)
© 2007 by Golden Bough
Forest Moon Music, BMI, all rights reserved

You can take my flintlock and my powder and my knives,
You can lock me up, you can keep me from your wives,
You can take my cutlass, you can take me from the sea,
But you can never take the pillaging, plundering pirate out of me.

 Every time a pirate ship was spotted on the sea,
Every sailor swore that it was me,
How could I have been in all the places that they say?
What do we care, we caught a pirate today.

You can take my flintlock and my powder and my knives,
You can lock me up, you can keep me from your wives,
You can take my cutlass, you can take me from the sea,
But you can never take the pillaging, plundering pirate out of me. .

Pirates drink their wine and rum,
But getting drunk is not much fun,
When you’re
Hanging from the dead man’s gallows,
Hanging from the dead man’s gallows.

Spend your life in plundering,
But it really leads to just one thing,
Hanging from the dead man’s gallows,
Hanging from the dead man’s gallows.

You must try and understand,
A pirate’s life is not so grand,
When you’re
Hanging from the dead man’s gallows,
Hanging from the dead man’s gallows.

You can brag of all your pirate deeds,
Looting and plundering and taking all you need,
But there are those whose live you took away,
If they were here, what would they say?
Hang him from the dead man’s gallows,
Hang him from the dead man’s gallows.

You can take my flintlock and my powder and my knives,
You can lock me up, you can keep me from your wives,
You can take my cutlass, you can take me from the sea,
But you can never take the pillaging, plundering pirate out of me.

Many were the nights I spent in ports so well hidden,
Loving women, drinking with the men.
I squandered all my plunder and I drank my share of rum,
But I never thought that this day would come.

You can take my flintlock and my powder and my knives,
You can lock me up, you can keep me from your wives,
You can take my cutlass, you can take me from the sea,
But you can never take the pillaging, plundering pirate out of me.

 Scalawag and buccaneer,
Not much difference as I hear
When you’re
Hanging from the dead man’s gallows,
Hanging from the dead man’s gallows.

All your chest of stolen gold
Cannot save your cursed soul
When you’re
Hanging from the dead man’s gallows,
Hanging from the dead man’s gallows.

The devil spawned a pirate crew,
That’s who’ll be waiting for you,
When you’re
Hanging from the dead man’s gallows,
Hanging from the dead man’s gallows.

When you were young you were a ruthless rake,
India to Madagascar, terror in your wake,
Now there’s only one place left for you,
The die is cast, no matter what you do.

 You can take my flintlock and my powder and my knives,
You can lock me up, you can keep me from your wives,
You can take my cutlass, you can take me from the sea,
But you can never take the pillaging, plundering pirate out of me.

Hanging from the dead man’s gallows,
Hanging from the dead man’s gallows,
Hanging from the dead man’s gallows,
Hanging from the dead man’s gallows.

Copyright © 1998 - 2007 by Golden Bough, Inc.