Sea Shanties

Sea shanties are work-songs sung by sailors, most associated with the Age of Piracy.

As steam-ships have gradually replaced sail-ships, the role that sea shanties filled has started to disappear.

Far Away, Far Away
Origins contested - supposedly adapted from a sea-worshipper prayer and/or a lullaby.



''Far away, far away, May the waves carry us far away. We will stay, we will stay, 'Til the stars fade in the light of day.''

''Cradle tide, cradle tide, May the sea rock us from side to side. Close your eyes, close your eyes, May you sleep soon with this lullaby. ''

''Sweetly dream, sweetly dream, May our fears finally be redeemed. At the dawn, at the dawn, May the wind wake and our sails be drawn.''

''Far away, far away, May the waves carry us far away. I will stay, I will stay, 'Til the stars fade in the light of day.''

Finn's Groom
A song written by Chernabog Wurtz to annoy Warlord Finn the Whale-Eater following the loss of his arm to a particularly dangerous sea-monster.



''Oh old Finn was a jaki* at the best of times, And he just wouldn't let a creechah* be Oh he'd had a spear in hand for all his life And he said he was married to the sea''

[Refrain] ''Félagar!* Félagar! What a fine wedding day it would've been! Félagar! Félagar! What a beautiful pair we could've seen!''

''Oh a monster there was that roamed along the Road, 'Bout a half a Leviathan in size, Oh with teeth it would bite and tendrils it would throw Countless sailors to their quick demise! ''

[Refrain]

''When old Finn heard the monster's exploits he was struck With a feeling he'd never felt before, He just knew with patience and a little luck, He would find em along the Vorsthal shore!''

[Refrain]

''Sure enough when he sail'd there with his Feasting Hall, The whole galleon began to creak and heave, Mighty barbs wrapp'd round, and pull'd it into jaws, So old Finn's crew began to cut and cleave!''

[Refrain]

''Oh the krak'n they carv'd, the ship began to break! Oh the fight was the best they ever saw! But they watch'd grinning Finn make such a big mistake, And his bloody arm hit the bloody floor!''

[Refrain]

''With old Finn on the ground, their ship near split in half, That old monster retreat'd to the gloom, Finn look'd grim, but he threw his head back just to laugh He was smitten with an Aglæca* Groom!''

[Refrain]

-*Jaki - lit. 'iceberg', means a stubborn or unshakeable person, can be positive or negative or both. N.B: this lyric is often misremembered as 'unlucky'.

-*Creechah - from 'creature', means 'a monster worth hunting'

-*Félagar (fyeh-lai-ah) - plural of Félagi (fyeh-lai-ii), meaning comrade, friend, or companion.

-*Æglæca or Aglæca (ah-glak-ah) - a person or monster that is formidable or awe-inspiring in some way, when talking about a hero it can mean 'brave', arguably 'a thing of monsters'. Sometimes written as 'Aglakah'.

A Flagon of Dragonfire
This is a drinking song, sung by sailors along the Palace Road.



Oh through a warm nor'wester storm they shot a dragon down,

And from his scales pour'd out a trail of greenblood on the ground Now there in planted rows they grow the sugar, smokes and tea, We take it all and with it haul our rum 'cross the palace sea!

[Refrain]

We'll take our ale from Do'thy Dale*, and have our wine from Shire*,

But nothing there will ever compare to a flagon of dragonfire*!

From sour rain the sugarcane snakes up past your tallest Vel,

With treacle flow they age it slow til it's hot as the flames of Hell,

Now to the bottle we'll all crawl, and breathers* we'll become,

O Melacles*, long may you bleed so we can have our rum!

[Refrain]

-*Do'thy Dale - short for 'Dorothy Dale', a place in the Three Sisters known for its beer.

-*Shire - an island between the Palace Road, the Wallows, and Camanaiada, known for its vinyards and wine festivals.

-*Dragonfire - rum.

-*Breather - short for 'fire-breather'; a rum-drinker or, less favourably, an alcoholic.

-*Melacles - One of the ten Elder Dragons. Melacles, the Onyx Dragon, is believed to have been shot down over the north of Satyavarsha before the Cascade.

I'll Never Go Home


''I first saw my love one cold Mirth morn On the beaches of Mistemere. How the pale morning light shone 'cross his fair face, And the salty wind blew through his hair!''

''He turn'd my way and smiled like sleep, With eyes that glistened like pearls. I knew right then, that for his joy I'd go to the ends of the world.''

''[Refrain] Oh no, oh no, I'll never go home, Though the ports do beckon and call Oh no, oh no, I'll never go home, At home there's nothing at all.''

''I return'd each day in search of my love, But he never came back to the shore. So I took to water and set through the fog Hoping I could see him once more.''

''I reckon'd my way from naval to neck Through the heart of the Narrow Gap, Where the sea runs deeper than any old land And older than any old map.''

[Refrain]

''At long last my vessel drifted along 'Tween the Isles of Sorrow and Sweet, I glimpsed o'er the waves, and there beyond My eyes and my love's did meet.''

''He look'd as a veil, as pale as the bone, And his body was floating above, He faded in shame, but I'll find him again, For that lonely ghost is my love.''

[Refrain]

Walk the Whale Road
A song sung by Whale Road sailors.



''When I was just a bonnybarn* mine eldri* said to me: 'Now don't you heed the calling, oh the calling of the sea'. But as I grew I heard the sound where waves fell o'er the land, The bounding tide and whale-song that took me by the hand! So walk the...''

''[Refrain] Whale Road, Whale Road, Whale Road, the Road, so walk the... Whale Road, Whale Road, Whale Road, the Road, We'll leave our loves and leave our cares for ocean fray* and free, so won't you, Won't you walk the Whale Road with me?''

''One day a gullen* plunderer washed up right into town I asked em 'bout their gulls*, ey laughed and turned to folks around: 'Nawt matters what you think', ey said, 'or what you well believe, 'Cuz you can live the Good Life, but you can never leave!' So walk the...''

[Refrain]

''I set out when the tide was high and when the wind was strong, No mattter how hvalgandir* bite I've lived to sing this song, Now I see why mine eldri told me not to heed the call, Cuz I'm a rain-soak'd soothner* who's come here to tell ye all To walk the...''

[Refrain]

-*Bonnybarn - a young child.

-*Eldri - a parent (gender neutral).

-*Fray - as an adjective, can mean 'fair' in both senses, as well as 'free'. Originates from the Fray.

-*Gullen - lit. 'golden', means wealthy.

-*Gulls - coins, usually Coalition ones, or wealth more broadly.

-*Hvalgandir (sing. hvalgandr, also called Valganders) - lit. 'whale-monster', refers to sea serpents that prey on whales along the Whale Road.

-*Soothner - means 'southerner', ie people who live along the Whale-Road, stereotyped as sea-hardened.