[Spoken Intro:] "They came with crowns and cannons, With law written in fire and rope. But pirates don’t beg… And ghosts don’t die. This is the tale of the Salty Maiden, And her captain— One-Eyed John. A cursed ghost who gathered and united the pirate captens together to sail under one flag" [Verse 1] In Tortuga’s smoke and lantern light, where broken men sat still, Rum ran low, the talk ran dark, the air was thick with ill. Spanish red and English white were sailin’ side by side, To burn us out, to hang us all, to drown the pirate tide. Then boots hit wood, the room fell quiet, A shadow crossed the flame, One eye lost, one eye burnin’, John stood and spoke our name. [Verse 2] He said, “They call us cursed, they call us damned, Say we don’t belong, But every inch of freedom here Was bought with blood and song. They’ll take your ships, they’ll take your lives, Put chains on sea and sky— Or you can sail with ghosts tonight And teach ’em how to die.” [Chorus] Hoist the flag of the Salty Maiden, Let the black sail bite the wind! From Tortuga’s bay to the judgment day, We rise like drowned men swim! With One-Eyed John to lead us on Through cannon, smoke, and flame, We’ll drown their crowns, we’ll burn their laws In the Maiden’s cursed name! [Spoken – One-Eyed John] “Oi! You crowned bastards listen well! You come with ropes and guns, thinkin’ you can end us— But you can’t kill what’s already dead. I tried dyin’ once. Didn’t take. I’m the ghost in yer storms and the rot in yer hulls, And I’ll be fucked if I let you chain free men again. Fire yer guns, you redcoats and Spanish dogs— So long as free men breathe, I’ll guard this sea. Now come on then… Let’s see who the ocean keeps.” [Verse 3] The sea went still, the moon went pale, the fog rolled thick and slow, Then out of death the Maiden came, her lanterns corpse-light glow. Her hull was scarred, her sails were torn from rope and hangman’s knot, Her deck was crewed by drowned men’s bones Who never stayed forgot. From every dock in Tortuga then, the pirate colors flew, A hundred ships, a thousand oaths, All sworn in black and blue. [Verse 4] At dawn they came, a wall of sails, of iron, gold, and law, Their drums beat order, cannons shone, their flags were soaked in awe. They laughed to see our ragged line, our patched and splintered fleet— They didn’t know the sea herself Had picked which side she’d meet. [Verse 5 – Battle] The first gun split the morning sky, the waves leapt up in pain, Chain-shot screamed through mast and bone like howlin’ iron rain. The Maiden charged through fire and smoke, her prow a devil’s grin, While John laughed loud and held the wheel As hell broke loose within. Hooks bit deep, the boards ran red, steel rang and pistols cried, Ghostly hands dragged soldiers down into the waiting tide. The storm rose fast at John’s command, the wind obeyed his roar, Kings’ ships cracked and split apart On waves they’d mocked before. [Chorus] Hoist the flag of the Salty Maiden, Let the black sail bite the wind! From Tortuga’s bay to the judgment day, We rise like drowned men swim! With One-Eyed John to lead us on Through cannon, smoke, and flame, We’ll drown their crowns, we’ll burn their laws In the Maiden’s cursed name! [Verse 6 – Victory] By dusk the sea was wreck and flame, with sails like funeral shrouds, The crowned fleets burned or sank below the thunder and the clouds. The few who fled spoke broken tales with terror in their eyes— Of ghost flags flyin’, dead men singin’, And John who would not die. [Final Chorus] Hoist the flag of the Salty Maiden, Let it rot and never fall! For free men fight when hope is dead And answer freedom’s call! With One-Eyed John, the cursed and bold, Still laughin’ through the flame, We live unruled, we die unchained, In the Maiden’s ghostly name! [Spoken Outro] So long as pirates breathe and chains are forged, The Maiden sails… And One-Eyed John still watches the horizon.
