The Decemberists - The Mariner's Revenge Song Lyrics

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We are two mariners 
Our ships' sole survivors 
In this belly of a whale 

Its ribs our ceiling beams 
Its guts our carpeting 
I guess we have some time to kill 

You may not remember me 
I was a child of three 
And you, a lad of eighteen 

But I remember you 
And I will relate to you 
How our histories interweave 

At the time you were 
A rake and a roustabout 
Spending all your money 
On the whores and hounds 
Oh Ohhhhh 

You had a charming air 
All cheap and debonair 
My widowed mother found so sweet 

And so she took you in 
Her sheets still warm with him 
Now filled with filth and foul disease 

As time wore on you proved 
A debt-ridden drunken mess 
Leaving my mother 
A poor consumptive wretch 
Oh Ohhhhh 

And then you disappeared 
Your gambling arrears 
The only thing you left behind 

And then the magistrate 
Reclaimed our small estate 
And my poor mother lost her mind 

Then one day, in spring 
My dear sweet mother died 
But before she did 
I took her hand as she, dying, cried: 
Oh Ohhhhh 

"Find him, bind him 
Tie him to a pole and break 
His fingers to splinters 
Drag him to a hole until he 
Wakes up naked 
Clawing at the ceiling 
Of his grave 
*sigh*" 

It took me fifteen years 
To swallow all my tears 
Among the urchins in the street 

Until a priory 
Took pity and hired me 
To keep their vestry nice and neat 

But never once in the employ 
Of these holy men 
Did I ever, once, turn my mind 
From the thought of revenge 
Oh Ohhhhh 

One night I overheard 
The prior exchanging words 
With a penitent whaler from the sea 

The captain of his ship 
Who matched you toe to tip 
Was known for a wanton cruelty 

The following day 
I shipped to sea 
With a privateer 

And in the whistle 
Of the wind 
I could almost hear... 
Oh Ohhhhh 

"Find him, bind him 
Tie him to a pole and break 
His fingers to splinters 
Drag him to a hole until he 
Wakes up naked 
Clawing at the ceiling 
Of his grave 

"There is one thing I must say to you 
As you sail across the sea 
Always, your mother will watch over you 
As you avenge this wicked deed" 

[haunting, sailor-esque musical interlude lead by mandolin, accordion and tuba] 

And then that fateful night 
We had you in our sight 
After twenty months at sea 

Your starboard flank abeam 
I was getting my muskets clean 
When came this rumbling from beneath 

The ocean shook 
The sky went black 
And the captain quailed 

And before us grew 
The angry jaws 
Of a giant whale 

[instrumental noise] 
oh ohhhhhhhhhh 
[screaming] 
ohhhhh 
[screaming] 

Don't know how I survived 
The crew all was chewed alive 
I must have slipped between his teeth 

But, oh! What providence! 
What divine intelligence! 
That you should survive 
As well as me 

It gives my heart 
Great joy 
To see your eyes fill with fear 

So lean in close 
And I will whisper 
The last words you'll hear 
Ohh Ohhhhh

Send "The Mariner's Revenge Song" ringtones to your cell

lyrics submitted by Disarmingbeautyx on 05-02-2005
lyrics corrected by emobutt on 24-10-2007