He was Halifax born and bred
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Long in the arm and thick in the head
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To leave Halifax there's a quote
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Its "through a bottle or on a boat"
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So while he was no sailor
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He found work aboard a whaler
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But when they got to St. Pierre
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It was clear that he didn't care
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They took him to the gangway
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And they gave him lashes twenty
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The captain ordered thirty
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But his daughter begged for mercy
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She stepped in before they stabbed him
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And she took him to her cabin
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There she gave him wine and water
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And a bit more than she oughter'
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So set the sails
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Or walk the plank
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What was your name?
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And what was your rank?
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If you don't work you'll be hung
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So come and mutiny while you're young
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Now the Captain was no fool
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And he told the men if you break the rules
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You'll all end up like Monahan
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And taste the cat to every man!
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Life aboard a ship is hard
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But exactly who guards the guards?
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When a Captain goes insane
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And men have treason in their veins
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The next day Monahan passed the word
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And all those who knew and heard
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When they called achors aweigh
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That was the call to disobey
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This time the Captain walked the plank
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They dropped him off near Grand Bank
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"Back to Halifax you can swim"
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And as he drowned they sang to him
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So set the sail
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or walk the plank
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What was your name
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or what is your rank
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They opened the casks and gave a cheer
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For Monahan the Mutineer
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And for the moment all looked well
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Until the sea began to swell
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The winds blew and the boat began to tip
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they felt below the hull start to rip
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And as we went into the sea
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Monahan screamed this advice to me
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"If we drown while we are young"
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its better to drown than to be hung!"
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So set the sail
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or walk the plank
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What was your name
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or what is your rank
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If there's work on a ship--don't volunteer
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like Monahan the mutineer
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And off in Halifax town
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The rats come butting the houses down
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On the beaches and on the piers
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Where the beer is mixed with tears
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Old men still tell of Monahan
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His mutiny and ill-fated plan
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How we all went into the sea
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And how none survived except for me!
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-----------------
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Monahan The Mutineer
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The Town Pants |