Yo Ho! - Heather Alexander

Sittin' at the dockside, linin' for fish, With all idle time that a man could wish- The world goes black with a crack on the head, Wake with an ache and a belly unfed, Take a look around and you wish you were dead- 'Cause you're WORKIN' ON A SLAVER! SINGIN' "YO HO, CRACK YOUR BACK IN TWO!" AS YOU PULL THE OAR OF THE GALLEY ON! "YO HO, CRACK YOUR BACK IN TWO!" AS YOU ROW YOUR SOUL AWAY! Can't wait in the mornin' for the day to end, And the touch of the whip is your only friend- They'll work ya' hard and they'll work ya' fast, When you get enough courage to talk at last, Then they'll wrap your entrails around the main mast- When you're WORKIN' ON A SLAVER! Well, the food they serve ends up at your feet, If you eat ship rats then ya' get more meat! You raise the oar at the captain's call, And no one claims that it hurts 'em at all, For it's nothin' when compared to a good keel haul- When you're WORKIN' ON A SLAVER! What do you do with a broken sailor? Earli in the mornin'? WAY HAY, AND UP HE RISES EARLI IN THE MORNIN'? Throw him over board and drag him on the anchor! Earli in the mornin'? Feed 'im to the sharks 'til the bones is floatin! Earli in the mornin'? Hang 'im from the mast as a Jolly Roger! Earli in the mornin'? Well, there is no escapin' from the devilish pit, If you talk revolution then your tongue gets split- Ya' can't speak truth and ya' don't dare lie, If ya' make them kill you then you're braver than I, For they think of hellish ways for a man to die! When you're WORKIN' ON A SLAVER!