An eerie poem by John Masefield, drawn from authentic maritime folklore, concerning the dark forces that await sailors on the high seas!

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A Ballad Of John Silver

By John Masefield

We were schooner-rigged and rakish, with a long and lissome hull,

And we flew the pretty colours of the cross-bones and the skull;

We'd a big black Jolly Roger flapping grimly at the fore,

And we sailed the Spanish Water in the happy days of yore.

We'd a long brass gun amidships, like a well-conducted ship,

We had each a brace of pistols and a cutlass at the hip;

It's a point which tells against us, and a fact to be deplored,

But we chased the goodly merchant-men and laid their ships aboard.

Then the dead men fouled the scuppers and the wounded filled the chains,

And the paint-work all was spatter-dashed with other people's brains,

She was boarded, she was looted, she was scuttled till she sank,

And the pale survivors left us by the medium of the plank.

O! then it was (while standing by the taffrail on the poop)

We could hear the drowning folk lament the absent chicken-coop;

Then, having washed the blood away, we'd little else to do

Than to dance a quiet hornpipe as the old salts taught us to.

O! the fiddle on the fo'c's'le, and the slapping naked soles,

And the genial "Down the middle, Jake, and curtsey when she rolls!"

With the silver seas around us and the pale moon overhead,

And the look-out not a-looking and his pipe-bowl glowing red.

Ah! the pig-tailed, quidding pirates and the pretty pranks we played,

All have since been put a stop-to by the naughty Board of Trade;

The schooners and the merry crews are laid away to rest,

A little south the sunset in the Islands of the Blest.

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John Masefield (1878-1967)

Does anyone still read Masefield? He was very popular in his own life time. He was the Poet Laureate for over thirty years. He may also be the only poet laureate to have been shanghaied.

But some poems are sufficient unto themselves, and this is one of them. It’s a pleasure to read. And a mini lesson in how to control rhythm.

It’s taken from ‘The Collected Poems of John Masefield’ . The publication details attest to his popularity…first published in 1923, it was reprinted 12 times before 1930, a new and enlarged edition, published in 1932, was reprinted four times before another ‘new and enlarged edition’ was printed in 1938. This was republished twice, the last time in 1942 which is the date of my copy.

Today's poem is John Masefield's popular poem "Sea Fever."

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Just in time for Christmas, Ralph and Liz discuss the book and TV series of the children’s fantasy The Box of Delights by John Masefield.

Show Notes

The Box of Delights by John Masefield

Adapted for the BBC by Alan Seymour

• Synopsis 01:05
• Themes 10:15
  
  • Pagan myth vs. warring magicians
  • Sapphire and Steel vs. Dr Who
• The RPG bit 25:05
  
  • Night Witches, Malandros, Tales from the Loop
  • A Taste for Murder
  • Monsterhearts
  • The Just City by Jo Walton
• Coming soon: The Dark is Rising by Susan Cooper

Music Credits

“Is That You Or Are You You?” from Reappear by Chris Zabriskie

“But Enough About Me, Bill Paxton” from Direct To Video by Chris Zabriskie

chriszabriskie.com // bandcamp // free music archive

As it is that time of the year again, and the wolves are running once more, Odile and Jim take a look at a classic children's book with a festive theme - John Masefield's The Box of Delights. Hurry along now - time and tide and buttered eggs wait for no man!