From the recording The Life and Death of Mary Read
Lyrics
The dogs on the pier are fighting, a wind’s rolling in from the east
Toward seven looming shadows portending the end of a feast
The tapper on Queen Street has spectators gathering on his porch
And high in the tropical breeze flies the cross of St George
Gently swells the sea
They tell me everyone who takes the King’s Pardon will go free
Gently swells the sea
They tell me everyone who takes the King’s Pardon will go free
The sea’s only drops of water, a bundle breaks down into twigs
Though the ani still tumbles and hollers, and sailors still ready their rigs
There’s a shift in the very foundations, the cog wheels are set to turn
As gentlemen on the Prince George give a toast and adjourn
Gently swells the sea
They tell me everyone who takes the King’s Pardon will go free
Gently swells the sea
They tell me everyone who takes the King’s Pardon will go free
Trinkets and guns are traded, the cargo is practically free
The fashionable ladies of London take sugar and milk with their tea
Tonight captain Bellamy dances and sings in the Fiddler’s Green
And the dogs who once fought on the pier are nowhere to be seen
Gently swells the sea
They tell me everyone who takes the King’s Pardon will go free
Gently swells the sea
They tell me everyone who takes the King’s Pardon will go free