Song | Pirate Jenny |
Artist | Marianne Faithfull |
Album | 20th Century Blues |
You lads see me wash the glasses, wipe the floors, | |
Make the beds, I'm the best of servants. | |
You can kindly throw me pennies and I'll thank you very much. | |
When you see me ragged and tattered in this dirty shit hotel, | |
You don't know in hell who's talking, | |
You still don't know in hell who's talking. | |
Yet one fine day there will be roars from the harbour | |
And you'll ask, 'What is all that screeching for ?' | |
And you'll see me smiling as I dunk the glasses | |
And you'll say, 'What's she got to smile at for ?' | |
And the ship, eight sails shining, | |
Fifty-five cannons wide, Sir, | |
Waits there at the quay. | |
You say, 'Work on, wipe the glasses, my girl.' | |
And just slip me a dirty six-pence. | |
And your pennies will be taken, and your beds will be made, | |
(But I doubt if forty winks will come anybody's way) | |
And you still don't know in hell who's talking, | |
You still don't know in hell who's talking. | |
Still one fine day there'll be a loud bang from the harbour, | |
And you'll ask, 'Jesus Christ, what was that bang ?' | |
And you'll see me standing right behind the window, | |
And you'll say, 'Why has she got the evil eye ?' | |
And the ship, eight sails shining, | |
Fifty-five cannons wide, Sir, | |
Will be aimed at this town. | |
So then lads, it's time for tears, no more laughs at the bar, | |
For the walls will be at your ankles. | |
And look out, lads, the town will be flat as the ground, | |
This dirty shit hotel will be spared wrack and ruin | |
And you'll say, 'Who is the fancy bitch lives there ?' | |
You'll say, 'Who is the fancy bitch lives there ?' | |
There'll be rows of people running round the hotel | |
And you'll ask, 'Why should they have spared this hovel ?' | |
And you'll see me in the morning leaving lightly | |
And you'll say, 'That one, her , she lived there ?' | |
The same ship, eight sails shining, | |
Fifty-five cannons wide, Sir, | |
Flies crossbones and skull. | |
In the midday sun a hundred men will step ashore | |
All tramping where shadows crawled. | |
They'll lay their hands on men, hiding shit-scared behind doors | |
Lead them in chains here before this silent woman, | |
And they'll say, 'Well, which ones shall we kill ?' | |
They'll say, 'Which ones shall we kill ?' | |
Come the dot of twelve, it will be still in the harbour, | |
When they ask me, 'Well, who is going to die ?' | |
And you'll hear me whispering, oh, so sweetly, 'All of them!' | |
And as the soft heads fall, I'll say, 'Hop-là!' | |
That same ship, eight sails shining, | |
Fifty-five cannons wide, Sir, | |
Disappears with me. |
You lads see me wash the glasses, wipe the floors, | |
Make the beds, I' m the best of servants. | |
You can kindly throw me pennies and I' ll thank you very much. | |
When you see me ragged and tattered in this dirty shit hotel, | |
You don' t know in hell who' s talking, | |
You still don' t know in hell who' s talking. | |
Yet one fine day there will be roars from the harbour | |
And you' ll ask, ' What is all that screeching for ?' | |
And you' ll see me smiling as I dunk the glasses | |
And you' ll say, ' What' s she got to smile at for ?' | |
And the ship, eight sails shining, | |
Fiftyfive cannons wide, Sir, | |
Waits there at the quay. | |
You say, ' Work on, wipe the glasses, my girl.' | |
And just slip me a dirty sixpence. | |
And your pennies will be taken, and your beds will be made, | |
But I doubt if forty winks will come anybody' s way | |
And you still don' t know in hell who' s talking, | |
You still don' t know in hell who' s talking. | |
Still one fine day there' ll be a loud bang from the harbour, | |
And you' ll ask, ' Jesus Christ, what was that bang ?' | |
And you' ll see me standing right behind the window, | |
And you' ll say, ' Why has she got the evil eye ?' | |
And the ship, eight sails shining, | |
Fiftyfive cannons wide, Sir, | |
Will be aimed at this town. | |
So then lads, it' s time for tears, no more laughs at the bar, | |
For the walls will be at your ankles. | |
And look out, lads, the town will be flat as the ground, | |
This dirty shit hotel will be spared wrack and ruin | |
And you' ll say, ' Who is the fancy bitch lives there ?' | |
You' ll say, ' Who is the fancy bitch lives there ?' | |
There' ll be rows of people running round the hotel | |
And you' ll ask, ' Why should they have spared this hovel ?' | |
And you' ll see me in the morning leaving lightly | |
And you' ll say, ' That one, her , she lived there ?' | |
The same ship, eight sails shining, | |
Fiftyfive cannons wide, Sir, | |
Flies crossbones and skull. | |
In the midday sun a hundred men will step ashore | |
All tramping where shadows crawled. | |
They' ll lay their hands on men, hiding shitscared behind doors | |
Lead them in chains here before this silent woman, | |
And they' ll say, ' Well, which ones shall we kill ?' | |
They' ll say, ' Which ones shall we kill ?' | |
Come the dot of twelve, it will be still in the harbour, | |
When they ask me, ' Well, who is going to die ?' | |
And you' ll hear me whispering, oh, so sweetly, ' All of them!' | |
And as the soft heads fall, I' ll say, ' Hoplà!' | |
That same ship, eight sails shining, | |
Fiftyfive cannons wide, Sir, | |
Disappears with me. |