Song of the week #16

Dead Man's Chest

I've often used the metaphor of a walking journey as a symbol for the journey of life but this is my only song which uses a sea voyage for the same purpose. I wrote it in the summer of 2019 and the journey here is one of loneliness and despair with the young cabin boy wondering whether he should scuttle the ship on which he is the only survivor.

I'm a great fan of music written for TV crime dramas and comedy series. oOe of my favourite composers of such music is Christopher Gunning who wrote the music for Poirot and for Rosemary and Thyme. I find it fascinating how Gunning could alter the Poirot signature theme so that it fitted the setting of each episode whether it was the pastoral setting of the English Lake District, the Greek island of Rhodes or the pomp and circumstance of English stately homes that was being evoked. Another composer, Anne Dudley, effortlessly bridged the gap between classical music and pop and was the composer for all the music for the Jeeves and Wooster TV series. In one episode she transformed her 1930s jazz-style theme tune into a beautiful Vaughan-Williams-inspired piece evoking the world of The Lark Ascending. Inspired by this, I decided to write an into and outro for my song based on the style of Vaughan Williams with serene low-string harmonies and a twittering violin.

The lyrics for Dead Man's Chest contain a veritable treasure trove of pirate clichés including the title, of course. Most of these were invented by Robert Louis Stevenson although the “Heave-o” chorus of my song was a staple of sea shanties long before Stevenson wrote Treasure Island.

Click on the link below to watch the video of Dead Man's Chest:

The song received a Commended Entry  certificate in the 2019 UK Songwriting Contest:

Dead Man's Chest

Well I’m just a poor cabin-boy, Tom is me name
I set out from Old Portsmouth for fortune and fame
But the fame it was fickle; the fortune was false
Now I’m dancing with death in a one-two-three waltz

‘cause it’s one for the crew who got sick and then died
and two for the bodies tossed over the side
and it’s three for the sharks as they swam round the boat
Now I’m wondering ‘ow long this old ‘ulk stays afloat.

So what shall I do with this rotten old wreck?
Should I scuttle it now and risk losing me neck?
It’s a thousand to one I could swim for the shore
Or should I sit tight and risk losing it all?
It’s so hard to decide what to do for the best
'cause it’s heave-o, heave-o, heave-o, heave-o
heave away on the dead man’s chest

Well the voyage was doomed ‘cause the stars were all wrong
Now I’m left on me own as I sing this ‘ere song
I’m adrift on the ocean with no sight of land
‘cause the rudder is broke and no ‘elp is at ‘and

Now I'm 'ere by meself 'cause they've all upped and gone
I’m the captain, the first mate and crew on me own
And if I should return to old England again
Never more will I sail on this cursed old main

So what shall I do with this rotten old wreck?
Should I scuttle it now and risk losing me neck?
It’s a thousand to one I could swim for the shore
Or should I sit tight and risk losing it all?
It’s so hard to decide what to do for the best 
'cause it’s heave-o, heave-o, heave-o, heave-o
heave away on the dead man’s chest
'cause it’s heave-o, heave-o, heave-o, heave-o
heave away on the dead man’s chest