These Laughing Bones -

The sailor won’t keep his hands in his pockets

He won’t write his letters in red

Bad luck is like bad news

With no end to how it spreads

The sailor killed a wren on New Year’s Day

He nailed his right boot to the mast

He never whistle’s on board they say

But wakes each morning with his flask

Beneath the roots of the ocean

Under the shade of the sea

Gather these laughing bones

Darling, beg mercy for me

Above the branches of clouds

Atop the crown of the sky

Let your tears fall

And join the waves where I lie

Good luck is offered to the sailor

With a fist he gives it back

True luck it floes from the prayer

Blood the only thing that can bring it back

A broken promise, a broken man

A cooper’s ax, a guilty hand

A tall drink, a head slammed

A rivet joined to seal the damned

Beneath the roots of the ocean

Under the shade of the sea

Gather these laughing bones

Darling, beg mercy for me

Above the branches of clouds

Atop the crown of the sky

Let your tears fall

And join the waves where I lie

The captain throws a plant from the wheelhouse

«Do you want us to wreck?

Plants seek the earth just as we do!

Bring up some wine to pour on deck.»

But there’s something foul in the mixture

The barrel’s opened wide

There’s the sailor at the bottom

There’s the sailor going over the side

Beneath the roots of the ocean

Under the shade of the sea

Gather these laughing bones

Darling, beg mercy for me

Above the branches of clouds

Atop the crown of the sky

Let your tears fall

And join the waves where I lie