"No Tears for Jamaica"

David Townsend (18 Feb 2003)

For the price of tea and rum,
Loosen the stays and mizzen main,
The journey south had begun.
In the midst of the pouring rain.

Us, and them,
We sever our normal ties,
Are we not ordinary men?
And why would we want to die?

All for a shipload of fruit turned bread,
And for plantations of Jamaican Blacks
For they will no sooner turn their heads,
Then to savor its taste or thereof a lack.

Forty-six men of sail,
Crowded on just two decks.
There in Jamaica we'll hail,
When we're finished in a check.

It's the bloody 'Islanders' we seek,
Not for the black slavers of home.
The want of our desires speak,
For of this our hearts do roam.

And so we breathe in the air,
Not with the English madness,
And we have not a care,
Nor a moment of sadness.

And many a lassie friend we made,
Their Tahitian black hair waving in the wind,
In the pools of blue water we would wade,
'Tis good to be in love agin'.

All the breadfruit we want,
Safely loaded onboard.
We depart this land of haunts,
But not of our own accord?

And here we sailed northerly,
The ship is finally ours,
We changed our course to south westerly,
Bligh and the 18 adrift for hours.

Blow the buggers brains out,
Someone would continuously say.
"Damned my eyes", they shout,
"See if he can live on one yam a day"!

"You damned scoundrels and hounds
You're all thieves alike",
Losing his coconuts, Bligh made his rounds,
We'd had enough of his blasphemous likes.

Rid of Bligh and 18 of our mates,
The Bounty she was our steed,
We would no longer have to wait
To resume our chosen deeds.

To our Island damsels,
We'd find our way back.
Hoisting all topsails,
Energy we did not lack.

Without looking back,
Old England we say goodbye!
Overboard with the breadfruit sacks
No tears for Jamaica do we cry!