From the recording The Life and Death of Mary Read
Lyrics
My name is Carey Brown and I don’t hold no hopes of heaven
But for a couple years out on the sea, I was king
My big day came August twelfth of seventeen oh seven
Folks had come from miles around to see me swing
Upstanding citizens, I can see you gawking
Cross yourselves, pretend like you were only passing by
Ain’t no entertainment better than a dead man walking
Kindly drop your pretense, you’re all here to watch me die
Gallow’s hill, gallow’s hill, no faith and no forgiving
For all your gospel preaching you’ve got vengeance on your mind
Open up your eyes, you’ll see the dead among the living
You righteous folks can kill us but you won’t leave us behind
I can hear you cursing at me, calling me a traitor
Well, what has your goddamn navy ever done for me?
Worked me to the bone and let me starve aboard some freighter
Push a crew for too long and you’re bound for mutiny
Upstanding citizens, I can see you gawking
Cross yourselves, pretend like you were only passing by
Ain’t no entertainment better than a dead man walking
Kindly drop your pretense, you’re all here to watch me die
Gallow’s hill, gallow’s hill, no faith and no forgiving
For all your gospel preaching you’ve got vengeance on your mind
Open up your eyes, you’ll see the dead among the living
You righteous folks can kill us but you won’t leave us behind
The scaffold holds a memory, the stench of something rotten
Rope traces, bloated faces, eyes a-bulging wide
Years roll by and you may have, but we’ve never forgotten
Patiently we wait and we will be here when you die.
Upstanding citizens, I can see you gawking
Cross yourselves, pretend like you were only passing by
Ain’t no entertainment better than a dead man walking
Kindly drop your pretense, you’re all here to watch me die
Gallow’s hill, gallow’s hill, no faith and no forgiving
For all your gospel preaching you’ve got vengeance on your mind
Open up your eyes, you’ll see the dead among the living
You righteous folks can kill us but you won’t leave us behind