We packed the Claire Celeste on a Friday Left harbour on December 31st With our cargo of gold, tobacco and rum Headed home with enough for our thirst
We didn’t see the stranger til the island Was a speck flung back far behind the wind With his shock of blood red hair and immutable stare He didn’t speak as the dark clouds gathered in
And as the waves tore up the sides like a tonne of dynamite And tore a grin through the side of the hull The crew hung on for life while the stranger took his knife And he strode the deck while whistling low
He struck the captain right beneath the jawbone Who twisted as he fell to the floor Bloodied, limp, rolled off the side as we heard the masts collide As sailor followed cargo followed oar
“Throw the bastard in after the captain” Hollered crewmen as the water upped and sprayed “Take a whip to his hide and a spear for his side So he’s a handhold as he’s thrown amongst the waves’”
But no sooner had we spoke, the stranger jumped up on the bow Pulled an hourglass from under his coat And slammed it on the deck of that bloodied, splintered wreck And as we lay dumb he spoke
“Carve my initials on a grain of sand And throw me out onto the wave Then watch my shadow crawl ashore like a miracle cure Has pulled me back from a watery grave
"I told your captain he would have his cargo I swore to god that he would never drown But he was dead upon the deck with my knife in his neck You see my good side’s from the antlers down."
And as the ship went down We were hypnotised (hypnotised) We were hypnotised (hypnotised) We were hypnotised (hypnotised) We were hypnotised (hypnotised)