[Intro] Hey ho, Way ho! (Hey ho, way ho!) Hey ho, Way ho! (Hey ho, let's go!) She saw him off, a tear she cried, Two years he'd sail, then be beside. With treasure won, he'd come back home, But her loneliness, it had grown; Each passing day, a heavy heart, A fear their love would fall apart. The salty air, the smell of smoke, He fought the foe, their lines he broke. The Captain praised his valiant deed, A pirate's life, the pirate's creed. He missed her so, his bonny lass, Her smile, her laugh, resting in the grass; A year'd passed since he'd gone, And in her heart, it felt so wrong; Temptation grew day-by-day, With men who looked her way; But she stood her ground, And kept them back; Kept family 'round, To stay on track; [Chorus] He fought hard, drank hard, And rose up through the ranks; He gained the lads' respect, And won the Captain's thanks; He sent his wife a missive, He'd return in half a year; With enough to buy a homestead, And live freely without fear; Her friends all whispered he was dead, No missive came, no word at all; The lack of word got in her head, "He's lost at sea, heard siren's call." The wealthy lords, they came to meet, And her hopes began to fall. Not long later, he sailed into port, A Captain, on his own two feet; A crew five hundred men strong, And a fleet that were replete; So he went home to tell his girl, 'Twas time they were to wed; Then he saw her there with child, And another man instead; "I've been away two years, my love," "Twas for thee I left this place!" She turned away, drowned in tears, But this thought ran apace; "The fault is mine, being gone so long" "May you live well o'er the years." So he weighed anchor, and sailed away; Left with his men once more; Raised a mug to honor his mates, Out there, there's treasure galore! And then his first mate Catou, Came up, an' held him near; "Too good for her by half," she said; "I'll make myself quite clear!" [Chorus] He'd fought hard, drank hard, And rose up through the ranks; He gained the lads' respect, They gave their Captain thanks; He left his old life behind, And reforged his life anew; Old dreams gone, new goals here, To live freely without fear; And that day a partnership began, A legend, a myth now grew; The legend of the Bonnie Wraith, Of Cap'n Tyler and miss Catou; First they took Barataria Bay, Then conquered all the coast, And soon they had a fine city, Of which they made the most; Then the tide, it turned one day, A fateful match long come; Her husband's ship entered his sights, Her cargo, heavy laden with rum; They fought, and her man laid low, To a bullet from Tyler's gun; He sent her a share of the take, With his body and a note, "Hard won." She got the letter an' sack o' gold, Her tears came down, her heart gone cold; "Forgive me, darlin'," the letter read, "I've earned yer wrath, for your man's dead." She cursed his name, the bitter sting, His pirate fame, the cruelest thing. [Outro]
