The Way of the Black Flag

[pre-chorus] For they follow the Black Flag they write their own sins some follow one man into divergent winds. [chorus] The sea chewed on their berth, whitecaps beat the hull. Masts snapped like wet matchsticks, rope and splintered holes mark the way of the Black Flag. [verse 1] Every pirate fears the hangman's knot, the cannon's roar after the shot. The reef beneath a moonless tide, they curse the storms they have to ride. They bargain with the sharks for breath, they laugh, sneer and spit at death with rum-stained smiles. [pre-chorus] For they follow the Black Flag they write their own sins all following their own goal into divergent winds. [chorus] The sea chewed on their berth, whitecaps beat the hull. Masts snapped like wet matchsticks, rope and splintered holes mark the way of the Black Flag. [Verse 2] Black cloth snapping from a splintered yard, tar in the seams, cutlass work hard. Ships in the crosshairs, running blind, boarding hooks swinging, knives aligned. Pikes in the fog, a lantern gone dim, blood in the bilge, no room for him. Even the gulls kept their distance close while the dead crew grinned through the smoke. [pre-chorus] For they follow the Black Flag they write their own sins some following unfathomed dreams into divergent winds. [chorus] The sea chewed on their berth, whitecaps beat the hull. Masts snapped like wet matchsticks, rope and splintered holes mark the way of the Black Flag.