Yon's my privateer See how trim she lies To every man a lucky hand And every man a prize I live to ride the ocean The mighty world around To take a little plunder And to hear the cannon sound To lay with pretty women To drink Madeira wine To hear the rollers thunder On a shore that isn't mine
Privateering we will go Privateering, yo ho ho ho Privateering we will go Yo ho ho, yo ho ho
The people on your man o' war Are treated worse than scum I'm no flogging captain And by God I've sailed with some Come with me to Barbary We'll ply there up and down Not quite exactly In the service of the Crown To lay with pretty women To drink Madeira wine To hear the rollers thunder On a shore that isn't mine
Privateering we will go Privateering, yo ho ho ho Privateering we will go Yo ho ho, yo ho ho
Look'ee there's my privateer She's small but she can sting Licensed to take prizes With a letter from the King I love the streets and taverns Of a pretty foreign town Tip my hat to the dark-eyed ladies As we sally up and down To lay with pretty women To drink Madeira wine To hear the rollers thunder On a shore that isn't mine
Privateering we will go Privateering, yo ho ho ho Privateering we will go Yo ho ho, yo ho ho
Britannia needs her privateers Each time she goes to war Death to all her enemies Though prizes matter more Come with me to Barbary We'll ply there up and down Not quite exactly In the service of the Crown To lay with pretty women To drink Madeira wine To hear the rollers thunder On a shore that isn't mine
Privateering we will go Privateering, yo ho ho ho Privateering we will go Yo ho ho, yo ho ho