The Norfolk brig has eighteen guns,
Before the wind she freely runs,
Sing hey, for the Yankee cruiser!
With W ILLIAM B AINBRIDGE in command,
So sure of touch, so firm of hand,
Sing ho, for our bold commander!
It was the good year 'ninety-nine
(The Norfolk 's staunch as a ship-of-the-line),
When we were waging war with France,
And off the Cuban coast we dance,
Sing hey, for the Yankee cruiser!
Soon B AINBRIDGE sights a privateer,
The French tricolor shows out clear;
So B AINBRIDGE fires the big bow-gun
And for the coast we make a run,
Sing ho, for our bold commander!
The Frenchman grounds upon a ledge;
We burn her to the water's edge,
To learn she has a sister-ship
A-fitting in the Havannah's slip,
Sing hey, for the Yankee cruiser!
So W ILLIAM B AINBRIDGE turns about,
Lays for the Havannah a course straight out,
And says to the Spaniard, loud and clear,
" I want that other French privateer! "
Sing ho, for our bold commander!
The Spaniard laughs at the Norfolk brig,
For she is little, and Spain is big: —
The Norfolk is of the good old sort
And, single-handed, blockades that port,
Sing hey, for the Yankee cruiser!
They can't get in, they can't get out,
For B AINBRIDGE stands there, sure and stout,
And when he aims a Yankee gun
Its bullet straight to the mark will run,
Sing ho, for our bold commander!
A Spanish ship puts out to fight,
A Spanish ship puts back in fright;
She learns, from the weight of the Norfolk 's ball,
If not so big, she is not small,
Sing hey, for the Yankee cruiser!
With a flutt'ring sail the word's sent out
That Spain has turned to the rightabout;
She wishes to do what we think fair, —
And won't we meet her halfway there?
Sing ho, for our bold commander!
We meet her at the privateer,
The which we burn, like her sister dear;
And then the Norfolk puts to sea,
After teaching the Spaniard a thing or three,
Sing hey, for the Yankee cruiser!
All this was in the good old days
With naught to blame and much to praise,
And, now we've come to days quite new,
The self-same thing is just as true,
Sing ho, for our bold commander!
The Yankee ship has ten-ton guns,
Regardless of wind she freely runs,
Sing hey, for the Yankee cruiser!
With a Yankee captain to command,
So sure of touch, so firm of hand,
Sing ho, for our bold commander!
Before the wind she freely runs,
Sing hey, for the Yankee cruiser!
With W ILLIAM B AINBRIDGE in command,
So sure of touch, so firm of hand,
Sing ho, for our bold commander!
It was the good year 'ninety-nine
(The Norfolk 's staunch as a ship-of-the-line),
When we were waging war with France,
And off the Cuban coast we dance,
Sing hey, for the Yankee cruiser!
Soon B AINBRIDGE sights a privateer,
The French tricolor shows out clear;
So B AINBRIDGE fires the big bow-gun
And for the coast we make a run,
Sing ho, for our bold commander!
The Frenchman grounds upon a ledge;
We burn her to the water's edge,
To learn she has a sister-ship
A-fitting in the Havannah's slip,
Sing hey, for the Yankee cruiser!
So W ILLIAM B AINBRIDGE turns about,
Lays for the Havannah a course straight out,
And says to the Spaniard, loud and clear,
" I want that other French privateer! "
Sing ho, for our bold commander!
The Spaniard laughs at the Norfolk brig,
For she is little, and Spain is big: —
The Norfolk is of the good old sort
And, single-handed, blockades that port,
Sing hey, for the Yankee cruiser!
They can't get in, they can't get out,
For B AINBRIDGE stands there, sure and stout,
And when he aims a Yankee gun
Its bullet straight to the mark will run,
Sing ho, for our bold commander!
A Spanish ship puts out to fight,
A Spanish ship puts back in fright;
She learns, from the weight of the Norfolk 's ball,
If not so big, she is not small,
Sing hey, for the Yankee cruiser!
With a flutt'ring sail the word's sent out
That Spain has turned to the rightabout;
She wishes to do what we think fair, —
And won't we meet her halfway there?
Sing ho, for our bold commander!
We meet her at the privateer,
The which we burn, like her sister dear;
And then the Norfolk puts to sea,
After teaching the Spaniard a thing or three,
Sing hey, for the Yankee cruiser!
All this was in the good old days
With naught to blame and much to praise,
And, now we've come to days quite new,
The self-same thing is just as true,
Sing ho, for our bold commander!
The Yankee ship has ten-ton guns,
Regardless of wind she freely runs,
Sing hey, for the Yankee cruiser!
With a Yankee captain to command,
So sure of touch, so firm of hand,
Sing ho, for our bold commander!