Fireship (song)
"Fireship"[1] (alternatively titled "The Fire Ship",[2] "The Fireship",[3] or "Dark and Rolling Eye"[4]) is a risqué variation of the song "Roving Kind".
The original song, first recorded by the Weavers, told a story of a sailor meeting an attractive girl who agrees to walk out with him, but the evening takes an unpleasant turn. The lyrics are filled with seafaring metaphors. The girl is called a pirate ship who makes him walk the plank.
Not quite a parody, "Fireship" begins the same way and tells a similar story, but the lyrics are more adult-oriented and sexually suggestive. The girl in this version seems to be a prostitute who robs the unfortunate sailor. The girl is called, not a pirate ship, but a fireship, referencing the old naval war tool, the fireship, which was set on fire and let loose among enemy ships. There are variations on the lyrics,[5][6] but the song ends with the sailor discovering that the encounter has left him with a "fire down below" or a "burning in the mast."
"Fireship" has been recorded by The Whiskey Bards,[7] Pyrates Royale, The Spinners,[8] and Jerry Bryant[9]
References[edit]
- ^ "Fireship music and lyrics". Horntip. Retrieved 18 May 2016.
- ^ Cray, Ed (1992). The Erotic Muse: American Bawdy Songs. Illinois: University of Illinois. pp. 68–71. ISBN 0-252-01781-1. Retrieved 19 May 2016.
- ^ "The Pyrates Royale: Love at First Nyte". Rambles.net. Retrieved 19 May 2016.
- ^ Randolph, Vance (1992). Roll Me In Your Arms: Unprintable Ozark Folksongs and Folklore. Fayetteville: University of Arkansas Press. pp. 237–239. ISBN 1-55728-237-4. Retrieved 19 May 2016.
- ^ "Fireship by Salty Dick". Musixmatch. Retrieved 18 May 2016.
- ^ "Sea Shanty Fireship". Traditional Music. Retrieved 18 May 2016.
- ^ Bards, Whiskey (9 December 2010). "Fireship by The Whiskey Bards". Spotify.com. Retrieved 18 May 2016.
- ^ "Spinners Fireship performance". YouTube. Retrieved 18 May 2016.
- ^ Bryant, Jerry. "Jerry Bryant (as Salty Dick) performing Fireship". YouTube. Retrieved 18 May 2016.