Strike The Bell

Up on the quarterdeck, and walkin' about,
There's the second mate, so steady and so stout.
What he is a-thinkin' of, he doesn’t know himself,
We wish that he would hurry up and strike, strike the bell!

chorus
Strike the bell, second mate, let us go below,
Look you well to windward you can see it's going to blow!
Look at the glass, you can see that it has fell,
We wish that you would hurry up and strike, strike the bell!

Down on the main deck and workin’ on the pumps,
There's the starboard crew, longin' for their bunks.
Look out to windward, and see a great big swell,
We wish that you would hurry up and strike, strike the bell!

Forward at the fo'cs'le head, and keepin' sharp lookout,
Yonder Johnny stands, ready for to shout,
“The lights are burnin' bright, sir, and everything is well,
We wish that you would hurry up and strike, strike the bell!”

Up on the poop deck, our gallant captain stands,
Looking out to sea with a spyglass in his hands.
What it is he’s thinkin' of, we know very well,
He's thinkin' more of short'nin' sheet than striking the bell!

key of D (2:38) live
Jim Hancock – guitar
The Burly Pyrates – Charles Murray (lead voice), Jen Dawson,
Michael Marzella, Jim Hancock

As performed on the recording:
Jim Hancock and Friends - Blood On The Boards

For information about purchasing this album,
please visit CD Baby:
JIM HANCOCK AND THE BURLY PYRATES: Blood on the Boards