The Song of Dansekar the Dutchman

Sing we sea-men, now and than,
Of Dansekar the Dutchman,
Whose gallant mind hath won him great renown ;
To live on land he counts it base,
But seeks to purchase greater grace
By roving on the ocean up and down.

His heart is so aspiring,
That now his chief desiring
Is for to win himself a worthy name ;
The land hath far too little ground,
The sea is of a larger bound,
And of a greater dignity and fame.

Now many a worthy gallant,
Of courage now most valiant,
With him hath put their fortunes to the sea;
All the world about have heard
Of Dansekar and Captain Ward,
And of their proud adventures every day.

There is not any kingdom,
In Turkey or in Christendom,
But by these pyrates have received loss;
Merchant-men of every land
Do daily in great danger stand,
And fear do much the ocean main to cross.

They make children fatherless,
Woful widows in distresse;
In shedding blood they [take] too much delight;
Fathers they bereave of sons,
Regarding neither cries nor moans,
So much they joy to see a bloody fight.

They count it gallant bearing
To hear the cannons roaring,
And musket shot to rattle in the sky ;
Their glories would be at the highest
To fight against the foes of Christ,
And such as do our Christian faith deny.

But their cursed villanies,
And their bloody pyracies,
Are chiefly bent against our Christian friends ;
Some Christians so delight in evils
That they become the sons of divels,
And for the same have many shameful ends.

England suffers danger
As well as any stranger ;
Nations are alike unto this company ;
Many English merchant-men,
And of London now and then,
Have tasted of their vile extremity.

London's Elizabeth
Of late these rovers taken hath,
A ship well laden with rich merchandize ;
The nimble Pearl and Charity,
All ships of gallant bravery,
Are by these pyrates made a lawful prize.

The Trojan of London,
With other ships many a one,
Hath stooped sail, and yielded out of hand,
(These pyrates they have shed their bloods,
And the Turks have bought their goods),
Being all too weak their power to withstand.

Of Hull the Bonaventer,
Which was a great frequenter
And passer of the Straits to Barbary,
Both ship and men [late] taken were
By Pyrates Ward and Dansekar,
And brought by them into captivity.

English Ward and Dansekar
Begin greatly now to jar
About [the true] dividing [of] their goods ;
Both ships and soldiers gather head,
Dansekar from Ward is fled :
So full of pride and malice are their bloods.

Ward doth only promise
To keep about rich Tunis,
And be commander of those Turkish seas ;
But valiant Dutch-land Dansekar
Doth hover neer unto Argier,
And there his threatening colours now displays.

These pyrates thus divided,
By God is sure provided
In secret sort to work each other's woe;
Such wicked courses cannot stand,
The Divel thus puts in his hand,
And God will give them soon an overthrow.