I tell ye 'bout me father he was a cautious man
An' in es' small saloon there was a man called Scurvy Dan
His speech was solely curses and his songs they chilled me bones
He sang bout haunted galleys he sang bout Davey Jones
An' late at night the song turned into a quite seditious moan

Yo-ho! Hi ho! All rise against the gov'nor!

But he was found by stately men and sure they had him hang
With me stayed tales of sea and the words he often sang
But this song is 'bout me father who was a cautious man
Who got in loads of trouble for keeping Scurvy Dan
Who all the way to hangman's gate before me as I ran, cried Ho!

I tell ye 'bout me father he was a cautious man
E' said just do yer labour as tidy as ye can
But on the day the royal crown took away his land
Not he nor any cautious man took an honest stand
But I a lad of 14 years I shouted like man - Yo Ho!

An' I was thrown in jail of course me age had saved me neck
But I escaped to open sea to swab a schooners deck
An' soon I learned for sure this worlds' no place for cautious men
And I - I made a name fer me at the local pirate den
And soon all rats that sail the sea they knew of Scurvy Ben
An' I returned to Port Royal with quite a bulky fleet
There was one man that I fer sure was very keen to meet
In hours we had crushed their ships and stormed up to the fort
And fought of cautious men at arms of the lowest sort
Then I was injured and enclosed on the dusty court

They hacked away and fired shots and I was surely doomed
But then some loud bangs reached me ears and a man above me loomed
There stood me sturdy father no more a cautious man
The grimmest smile upon his face, a musket in his hand
He grabbed me hand, he pat me back, he dragged me to me feet

An' with new strength an' side by side we breached the wooden door
Our sabres gleamed, our pistols cracked and soon there on the floor
Lay that bilge rat gov'nor in a heap of silk and gore
An' out there in the twilight gleam rose a rhythmic roar
The whole towns men was in the street voicing our shout of war