Quay Cur
From Blueberry Boat
Lyrics
I had a locket, a little silver charm,
Given to me so to keep me out of harm.
Canvasing the quayside, trying to earn my keep,
A killick tore it off my neck and threw it in the deep.
And now I'll never never never feel like I am safe again.
And now I'll never never never feel like I am safe again.
And now I'll never never never feel like I am safe again.
Up to the quarentine, late night aboard,
Try to raise our fees, but we get what they afford.
Busy work below-deck, according to form,
Waiting for the clear to leave but then comes up a storm.
We hid beneath the barrels of blubber hoping that the rain had passed,
But when the wind kept up the rats cut down the rigging off the mast,
And then the rust chewed through the anchor chain and out to sea we're cast.
The clouds dried and cracked,
It was calm in fact.
The ship had been towed,
By sea Dyaks rowed.
So we're sold in Kalimantan so I let out a sob,
A cry oh no it's disaster, the rains of Bay Madacascar.
Great gulps of Greek fire get us in,
Sling sticks at the stockade Fort Dauphin.
A guardsman gave a griffin said grease my duke,
Down by the chimney and out through the fluke.
A looby a lordant a lagerhead lozel,
A lungio lathback made me a proposal.
Straight sail top mast astrolabe prospected,
Down in his dry dock erected infected.
Mocked up with silk strings and taffeta tricked,
With nails out of driftwood already iron sicked.
Now spy out the glass at whatever missteps me,
And the press gang warrant's signed "Sir Edward Pepsi".
Course it wasn't long till I caught the croup,
Dawding on the drizzy-deck of my majesty's sloop.
If only the helmsman turned from his whipstaff,
With my azimuth compass I'd go by the graph.
Up to the whaling fleet in Gilbert sound,
Then back the hull when we come around.
With 100 seals and 2 polar bears,
Nearly in the harbor without any cares.
But then:
A looby a lordant a lagerhead lozel,
A lungio lathback made me a proposal.
Straight sail top mast astrolabe prospected,
Down in his dry dock erected infected.
Mocked up with silk strings and taffeta tricked,
With nails out of driftwood already iron sicked.
Now spy out the glass at whatever missteps me,
And the press gang warrant's signed "Sir Edward Pepsi".
Half-hour sandglass.
Seven-saker round shot.
Ice for the moonshine,
And lethicksaneg.
Canyglow, canyglow, canyglow don't say nugo.
Tie tight my sugnacoon,
In comes the tucktodo,
Aba in aob aginyoh.
Look awennye.
Get out my sawygmeg,
Yliaout, yliaout,
Weave us on shore.
Unvicke quoysah,
Maconmeg,
And I gave a sasobneg.
Canyglow, canyglow, canyglow don't say nugo.
Tie tight my sugnacoon,
In comes the tucktodo,
Aba in aob aginyoh.
And now we live by mussels, water weeds with small relief in store,
And all the sick men in the galleon were then put upon the shore,
And on the 22nd we didn't see our General any more.
Down came our trestle-trees, no pitch tar or nails,
Fore-shrouds break no rope we trust,
Only one shift of sails.
Drink my Rosa Solis, struck suddenly ahull,
Yield ourselves we spooned my sinews stiff, my eyes were dull.
And as we pass the equinoctial only five of us could stand,
And while the capstan without sheets or tacks by all of us was manned,
And on the 11th day of June ran in at Barehaven to land.
Notes
The Inuktitut words in this song are taken from Richard Hakluyt's Voyages in Search of The North-West Passage, chapter 8
The words used in the song, in the order they appear, are:
| Inuktitut | English |
|---|---|
| Lethicksaneg | a seal-skin |
| Canyglow | kiss me |
| Nugo | no |
| Sugnacoon | a coat |
| Tucktodo | a fog |
| Aba | fallen down |
| Aob | the sea |
| Aginyoh | go, fetch |
| Awennye | yonder |
| Sawygmeg | a knife |
| Yliaoute | I mean no harm |
| Unvicke | give it |
| Quoysah | give it to me |
| Maconmeg | will you have |
| Sasobneg | a bracelet |
