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The Poem "Derelict" Just about everyone in the world has heard the pirate's sea song that goes "Fifteen Men on a dead man's chest, Yo-ho-ho and a bottle of rum..." Other people may even know it from a musical circa 1914 (whose title eludes me, presently). I've always known it as "Derelict" by Young E. Allison. The transcription below is from the book "Best Loved Poems of the American People" edited by Hazel Felleman and published by Garden City Publishing in 1936 (the BEST book of poetry I've ever encountered). If you've ever wondered why people usually stop after the first or second verse (aside from not knowing what comes after the first or second verse), it becomes obvious after reading the entire text. In this day and age of political correctness, frivolous lawsuits and antiseptic thought processes to help protect the general public from harming themselves physically or mentally, it's nice to know that these gems of history exist. Enjoy the tale...

Derelict - Young E. Allison "Fifteen men on the Dead Man's Chest-- Yo-ho-ho and a bottle of rum! Drink and the devil had done for the rest-- Yo-ho-ho and a bottle of rum!" The mate was fixed by the bos'n's pike, The bos'n brained with a marlinspike, And Cookey's throat was marked belike It had been gripped By fingers ten; And there they lay, All good dead men Like break-o'-day in a boozing-ken-- Yo-ho-ho and a bottle of rum! Fifteen men of the whole ship's list-- Yo-ho-ho and a bottle of rum! Dead and be damned and the rest gone whist!-- Yo-ho-ho and a bottle of rum! The skipper lay with his nob in gore Where the scullion's axe his cheek had shore-- And the scullion he was stabbed times four. And there they lay, And the soggy skies Dripped all day long In upstaring eyes-- In murk sunset and at foul sunrise-- Yo-ho-ho and a bottle of rum! Fifteen men of 'em stiff and stark-- Yo-ho-ho and a bottle of rum! Ten of the crew had the Murder mark-- Yo-ho-ho and a bottle of rum! 'Twas a cutlass swipe or an ounce of lead, Or a yawing hole in a battered head-- And the scuppers glut with a rotting red And there they lay-- Aye, damn my eyes-- All lookouts clapped On paradise-- All souls bound just contrariwise-- Yo-ho-ho and a bottle of rum. Fifteen men of 'em good and true-- Yo-ho-ho and a bottle of rum! Every man jack could ha' sailed with Old Pew-- Yo-ho-ho and a bottle of rum! There was chest on chest full of Spanish gold, With a ton of plate in the middle hold, And the cabins riot of stuff untold, And they lay there, That had took the plum, With sightless glare And their lips struck dumb, While we shared all by the rule of thumb-- Yo-ho-ho and a bottle of rum! More was seen through the sternlight screen-- Yo-ho-ho and a bottle of rum! Chartings ondoubt where a woman had been!-- Yo-ho-ho and a bottle of rum! A flimsy shift on a bunker cot, With a thin dirk slot through the bosom spot And the lace stiff dry in a purplish blot. Or was she wench... Or some shuddering maid...? That dared the knife-- And took the blade! By God! she was stuff for a plucky jade-- Yo-ho-ho and a bottle of rum! Fifteen men on the Dead Man's Chest-- Yo-ho-ho and a bottle of rum! Drink and the devil had done for the rest-- Yo-ho-ho and a bottle of rum! We wrapped 'em all in a mains'l tight With twice ten turns of a hawser's bight And we heaved 'em over and out of sight-- With a Yo-Heave-Ho! And a fare-you-well! And a sullen plunge In the sullen swell, Ten fathoms deep on the road to hell! Yo-ho-ho and a bottle of rum!

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And now you know... the rest of the story.