Dm Am Bb F C Dm [Verse 1]Dm Come all you hearty shellbacks,Am And listen to me tale,Bb F Of most majestic worthinessC Am That ever defied a gale;Dm The greatest vessel of her kindAm That ever a man did see,Bb F She was the mighty clipper ship,Am Dm The Sovereign of the Seas. [Verse 2]Dm It’s Boston eighteen fifty-two,Am The yards of Donald McKay,Bb F He built the biggest clipper shipC Am To ever launch down the ways;Dm His reputation on the line,Am His money ventured too;Bb F But he would laugh the last,Am Dm He’d show them he was true. [Chorus]Dm Am She crossed the line and doubled the Horn,C F She lived to chase a breeze;Gm Am She was the mighty clipper shipBb C Dm The Sovereign of the Seas. [Verse 3]Dm Her frame of seasoned white oak,Am Her lines were sharp and long,Bb F Her backbone, knees and keelson,C Am She was so stout and strong;Dm Two hundred sixty-five feetAm She reached from stem to stern,Bb F Twelve thousand yards of canvasAm Dm All for the wind did yearn. [Verse 4]Dm With Neptune ‘neath the bowsprit,Am She cut the waves so fine,Bb F She swept into New York me boysC Am To work for the Swallowtail line;Dm No ship to date had stowed so muchAm Down in the hold,Bb F Three thousand tons of goods belowAm Dm Took thirty days to load.[Chorus]Dm Am She crossed the line and doubled the Horn,C F She lived to chase a breeze;Gm Am She was the mighty clipper shipBb C Dm The Sovereign of the Seas. [Verse 5]Dm The water-gazers all alongAm The battery did stare,Bb F As she filled her sails to windwardC Am In the sunlight’s golden glare;Dm Then outward bound for ‘FriscoAm And the screaming westerlies,Bb F Across the line and round the HornAm Dm Through the Roaring Forties. [Verse 6]Dm The gale took half the rigging,Am We’ll fix it underway,Bb F We’ll weather any seaC Am The skipper did boldly say;Dm Don’t mind the boarding combers,Am As the solid green she ships,Bb F We’ll throw up some more canvasAm Dm Then we’ll punch her through the rips. [Chorus]Dm Am She crossed the line and doubled the Horn,C F She lived to chase a breeze;Gm Am She was the mighty clipper shipBb C Dm The Sovereign of the Seas. [Instrumental]Dm AmC FGm AmBb C DmDm AmC FGm AmBb C Dm [Verse 7]Dm Sailing into ‘Frisco Bay,Am A hundred three days out,Bb F The crowds along the waterfrontC Am They shouted and danced about;Dm Payday brought a bonusAm For all the men on board,Bb F A hundred thousand for the shipAm Dm That voyages reward. [Verse 8]Dm Then to the Sandwich IslesAm For a load of oil and bone,Bb F Eight thousand barrels of whale oilC Am First clipper to bring it home;Dm Eighty-two days laterAm A record to New York,Bb F She earned her keep for Donald McKayAm Dm Sailing from port to port. [Chorus]Dm Am She crossed the line and doubled the Horn,C F She lived to chase a breeze;Gm Am She was the mighty clipper shipBb C Dm The Sovereign of the Seas. [Verse 9]Dm Leaving records in her wakeAm And cargo round the world,Bb F A ship ahead of her timeC Am With all her sails unfurled;Dm From Bombay to Ampoa,Am London to Shanghai,Bb F She flew across the watersAm Dm The world of sea and sky. [Verse 10]Dm But under heavy canvas,Am She foundered in a gale,Bb F She wrecked upon the Pyramid shoalsC Am And none to tell the tale,Dm ‘Twas but her seventh summer,Am Cut short her glorious reign,Bb F But those who burn the brightestAm Dm Oft flash the briefest flame. [Chorus]Dm Am She crossed the line and doubled the Horn,C F She lived to chase a breeze;Gm Am She was the mighty clipper shipBb C Dm The Sovereign of the Seas. [Chorus]Dm Am She crossed the line and doubled the Horn,C F She lived to chase a breeze;Gm Am She was the mighty clipper shipBb C Dm The Sovereign of the Seas.
The Sovereign Of The Seas
David Coffin
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Tom: