[Intro, D minor drone; Whispered grit texture] Hoist the lantern, choke the sky, Tar in the throat where the black gulls cry, Bootheels drum on the splintered quay, Teeth like dice in a devil’s sea— [Verse 1, Aeolian stomp rhythm; Gritty Male Lead + Gang Shouts] Rope-burn palms and a compass cracked, Maps like scars on a barnacled back, Knuckles knock on the coffin crate, “Fortune’s a blade,” we celebrate— Hey! (Hey!) Rattle the chain and spit the brine, Gold tastes sweet in a crooked spine, Ink runs red where the contracts lie, Sign with a laugh and a shuttered eye— [Pre-Chorus, Ascending progression; Call-and-Response Choir] Wind up tight in the ribcage drum, Hear that thunder? It’s trouble come, Knees knock time to the cannon’s grin, Count to three—let the storm begin— [Chorus 1, Harmonic minor surge; Full Gang Chorus + Stomps] Shiver the salt from the timber’s bone! Clatter the deck like a rolling stone! Black flag bloom in the lightning’s grin, We are the howl that the dark sails in! Hey! Hey! (Heave-ho!) Raise that roar till the rafters spin, We are the tide that will drag you in! [Verse 2, Driving 6/8 sway; Raspy Lead + Fiddle Screech] Fiddle squeals like a cutlass kiss, Rum runs hot in a powder hiss, Shadow deals on a splintered bar, Trade your name for a jagged star— Boot to the barrel, sparks in a ring, Coins like hail when the deckhands sing, Crossbones chalked on a moonlit crate, Luck’s a noose and we lubricate— [Percussion Break, Polyrhythmic stomp; Barrel Drums + Foot Stamps] —Thud! Thud!— (Clap the brine!) —Thud! Thud!— (Cross the line!) Chain-rattle, mast-crack, gull-cry spin, Salt in the teeth, let the raid begin! [Chorus 2, Climactic theme; Gospel-Style Pirate Choir] Shiver the salt from the timber’s bone! Clatter the deck like a rolling stone! Storm-bell toll in the captain’s grin, We are the gale with the knives within! Hey! Hey! (Heave-ho!) Swing that lantern and reel it in, We are the curse that the maps can’t pin! [Bridge, Dramatic twist modulation; Whisper-to-Roar Build] Hush now—hear that hull-heart creak, Sea’s got a tongue and it loves to speak, It says, “All hands are borrowed breath,” Kiss the foam with a laughing death— Then—CRACK!—goes the sky in two, Silver the waves with a vengeful hue, Stamp your oath in the tar-black rain, Gold is a fever that salts the brain— [Final Chorus, Key Change + Build-up dynamics; Massive Gang Vox + Cannons] Shiver the salt from the timber’s bone! Rattle the stars from the crow’s-nest throne! Black flag bloom where the wild winds spin, We are the roar that the night draws in! Hey! Hey! (Heave-ho!) Raise that roar till the oceans bend, We are the storm with no harbor end! [Outro, Gradual swell decrescendo; Distant Choir + Creaking Mast] Lantern low and the gulls wheel wide, Footprints fade in the turning tide, Tar in the throat, but we grin, we grin— Salt on the gallows wind.
