When the Pirate Ships Split

Intro

Yo-ho, hey—la-la, hey

(oh-oh)

Verse

We left from Galway with a barrel of sun,

Black sails like raven wings, the long day had begun,

Salt on our tongues and iron on our lips,

Song in our marrow, and maps in our grips.

Wind blew a story down from the cliffs so steep,

A warning in thunder that woke the deep,

But we laughed at the gulls and we laughed at the sky,

Till the sea took a breath and the timbers cried.

Chorus

When the pirate ships split, oh-oh, when the pirate ships split (when the pirate ships split),

Ho! the planks gave way and the lanterns hit the pit—(oh-oh)

When the pirate ships split, oh-oh, when the pirate ships split,

Raise up your hand, sing it loud, let the last bell knell it—(hey!)

When the pirate ships split, oh-oh, when the pirate ships split.

Verse

There was O'Malley with a grin and a scarred old tune,

He swore by the stars and the face of the moon,

Maggot-eyed maps and a song for the long, long haul,

But the ocean had teeth and she answered the call.

We felt the first crack like a drum in the keel,

Saw sisters of timber give up all their will,

Crowd on the deck with a bottle passed quick,

Kissed the cold wood, watched the black water lick.

Pre-chorus

Oh—wind wrenched the mizzen, the jibsplit tore clean,

(ah-ah) The compass spun mad like a gambler's machine,

Hold fast, hold fast, to the rope and the grit,

Sing soft, sing soft, for the loves we admit.

Chorus

When the pirate ships split, oh-oh, when the pirate ships split (when the pirate ships split),

Ho! the planks gave way and the lanterns hit the pit—(oh-oh)

When the pirate ships split, oh-oh, when the pirate ships split,

Raise up your hand, sing it loud, let the last bell knell it—(hey!)

When the pirate ships split, oh-oh, when the pirate ships split.

Bridge

Split by the storm, split by the greed, split like a secret we couldn't keep,

Two hulls now strangers, two crews on the sweep, (na-na)

And the fiddler kept time with a broken bow, (bow, bow)

We shouted our names though the tide said no.

Oh, the shoreline remembers each oar and each swear,

It keeps every promise we never could bear,

From Dingle to Sligo the rumor will fit:

The night the whole fleet of our hearts went split.

Chorus

When the pirate ships split, oh-oh, when the pirate ships split (when the pirate ships split),

Ho! the planks gave way and the lanterns hit the pit—(oh-oh)

When the pirate ships split, oh-oh, when the pirate ships split,

Raise up your hand, sing it loud, let the last bell knell it—(hey!)

When the pirate ships split, oh-oh, when the pirate ships split.

Chorus

When the pirate ships split, oh-oh, when the pirate ships split (when the pirate ships split),

Ho! the planks gave way and the lanterns hit the pit—(oh-oh)

When the pirate ships split, oh-oh, when the pirate ships split,

Ho! sing it high, sing it low, let the wild wind fill it—(hey!)

When the pirate sh