Anonymous British

The Ballad Of Captain Kidd

My name was William Kidd, When I sailed, When I sailed, My name was William Kidd, When I sailed, My name was William Kidd, God's laws I did forbid, And so wickedly I did, When I sailed, When I sailed. My parents taught me well, When I sailed, When I sailed, My parents taught me well, When I sailed, My parents taught me well, To shun the gates of hell, But against them I rebelled, When I sailed, When I sailed. I'd a Bible in my hand, When I sailed, When I sailed, I'd a Bible in my hand, When I sailed, I'd a Bible in my hand, By my father's great command, And I sunk it in the sand, When I sailed, When I sailed. I thought I was undone, As I sailed, As I sailed, I thought I was undone, When I sailed, I thought I was undone, And my wicked glass had run, But health did soon return, As I sailed, As I sailed. My repentance lasted not, As I sailed, As I sailed, My repentance lasted not, When I sailed, My repentance lasted not, My vows I soon forgot, Damnation was my lot, As I sailed, As I sailed. I spied three ships from France, As I sailed, As I sailed, I spied three ships from France, When I sailed, I spied three ships from France, To them I did advance, And took them all by chance, As I sailed, As I sailed. I spied three ships from Spain, As I sailed, As I sailed, I spied three ships from Spain, When I sailed, I spied three ships from Spain, I looted them for gain, Till most of them were slain, As I sailed, As I sailed. I'd ninety bars of gold, As I sailed, As I sailed, I'd ninety bars of gold, When I sailed, I'd ninety bars of gold, And dollars manifold, With riches uncontrolled, As I sailed, As I sailed. Thus being o'ertaken at last, As I sailed, As I sailed, Thus being o'ertaken at last, When I sailed, Thus being o'ertaken at last, And into prison cast, And sentence being passed, As I sailed, As I sailed. Farewell, the raging main, I must die, I must die, Farewell, the raging main, When I sailed, Farewell, the raging main, To Turkey, France, and Spain, I shall never see you again, For I must die, For I must die. To the execution dock, I must go, I must go, To the execution dock, I must go, To the execution dock, While many thousands flock, But I must bear the shock, And must die, And must die. Come all ye young and old, See me die, And see me die, Come all ye young and old, When I sailed, Come all ye young and old, You're welcome to my gold, For by it I've lost my soul, And must die, And must die. Take a warning now by me, I must die, I must die, Take a warning now by me, For I must die, Take a warning now by me, And shun bad company, Let you come to hell with me, For I must die, For I must die. Versions of this popular ballad were being sung in London within a month of Kidd's execution in May 1701. The format and tune are common among folk-ballads with the actions and events differing according to the "hero". The most popular being the Ballad of Sam Hall, Chimney sweep.