Last Bristolian Pirate

## Last Bristolian Pirate (live)

An authorized adaptation of Canada's own Arrogant Worms classic "The Last Saskatchewan Pirate", originally released on their self-titled 1992 album. The Longest Johns rewrote a number of the lyrics to apply to Bristol instead of Saskatchewan, while managing to maintain the impact of the jokes scattered throughout the song. (Though, admittedly, the replacement of Regina with the Severn for the chorus takes out some of the impact, given the punchline of using Regina is that it is an almost wholly landlocked city.)

Last Bristolian Pirate appears as a live recording on the physical release of Bones in the Ocean. It also appears as track 7 on the 2020 album Cures What Ails Ya.

## Factoids

**Western Line** refers to the The Great Western Main Line, a railway that runs from Paddington station in London to Temple Meads station in Bristol.

**The River Severn** is the longest river in Great Britain, flowing 220 miles (354 km) from the Cambrian Mountains in central Wales to the Bristol Channel separating south Wales from southwest England.

The farmer on the tractor in the music video is played by Rich Laws, the band's drummer.

## Lyrics

Lyrics as printed in the album sleeve; the original Saskatchewan version can be found here.

>
> Oh I used to be a farmer, and I made a living fine
>
> I had a little stretch of land along the western line
>
> But times were hard and though I tried the money wasn't there
>
> and bankers came and took my land and told me: "fair is fair."
>
>
>
> I looked for every kind of job the answer always: "no"
>
> "Hire you now?", they'd always laugh, "we just let twenty go"
>
> The government they promised me a measly little sum
>
> But I've got too much pride to end up just another bum
>
>
>
> And I said: "who gives a damn if all the jobs are gone
>
> I'm going to be a pirate on the river Severn!"
>
>
>
> {Chorus}
> And it's a-heave-ho hi-ho coming down the plains
>
> Stealing wheat and barley and all the other grains
>
> And it's a-ho-hey hi-hey farmers bar your doors
>
> When ya see the jolly roger on the Severn's mighty shores
>
>
>
> You'd think the other farmers would know that I'm at large
>
> But just the other day I saw an unsuspecting barge
>
> I snuck up right behind them and they were none the wiser
>
> I rammed their boat and sank it and I stole the fertilizer!
>
> A bridge outside of Redwick spans a mighty river
>
> Farmers cross in so much fear their stomachs are a-quiver
>
> Cause they know that Tractor Jack is hiding in the bay
>
> I'll jump the bridge and knock them cold and sail off with their hay!
>
>
>
> {Chorus}
>
>
>
> Well officer Robbie chased me, he was always at my throat
>
> But he followed on the shoreline cause he didn't own a boat
>
> But cut backs were a-coming and the copper lost his job
>
> And now he sails with us and we call him salty Rob!
>
>
>
> A swinging sword, a skull and bones and pleasant company,
>
> I'll never pay my income tax and screw the VAT (screw it!)
>
> Sailing out past Oldbury, the terror of the seas
>
> If you wanna get to Tesco boys, you've gotta get by me!
>
>
>
> {Chorus}
>
>
>
> Well pirate life's appealing, but you don't just find it here
>
> I hear that up in Yorkshire there's a band of buccaneers
>
> They roam around the Yorkshire dales from Smith to Beverley
>
> And you're bound to lose your flat cap if you have to pass their way
>
>
>
> Winter is a-coming and a chill is in the breeze
>
> My pirate days are over if the rivers start to freeze
>
> But I'll be back in springtime and now I've got to fly
>
> I hear there's lots of plundering down in the Isle of Wight
>
>
>
> {Chorus x2}
>
>
>
> When you see the Jolly Roger on the Severn's mighty shores (Hey!)
>
>
>
>

## Recordings

#### Streaming/Purchase

* Amazon Music
* Apple Music/iTunes
* Bandcamp
* Deezer
* Pandora
* Spotify

#### YouTube Videos

* Music Video
* Album version

#### Gig Videos

* The Barrel Thornbury (29 Jul 2012)
* Crimson Moon Tavern (2013)
* Falmouth International Sea Shanty Festival, 2014
* The Three Tuns - Bristol (29 Nov 2018)
* Oxford Folk Club (Mar 2019) - flying flat cap edition!
* Teign Shanty Festival, Corinthian Yacht Club, Teignmouth (Sep 2019)
* XXXIX Międzynarodowy Festiwal Piosenki Żeglarskiej (23 Feb 2020)
* Shrewsbury Folk Festival (28th Aug 2021)
* Cursus Festival 2023

#### Full Band Streams

* Christmas Party with The Longest Johns!!! (19 Dec 2018)
* Surviving the first month of 2019 with The Longest Johns!!! (New donation system) (30 Jan 2019)
* The Longest Johns and Friends, February Edition (New donation system) (27 Feb 2019)
* The Longest Johns and Friends, March. w/Sam Brookes (22 Mar 2019)
* The Longest Johns and Friends, April. w/Jimmy Aldridge & Sid Goldsmith (30 Apr 2019)
* The Longest Johns Streamtember (4 Sep 2019)
* Isolation Stream 'n' Skypeathon! (1 Apr 2020)
* It's hot! Stream was a bad choice... Or was it? (24 Jun 2020)
* Sweet Streams are Made of This (In the Studio) (17 Mar 2021)
* STREAM (4 Aug 2021)
* A Midsummer Nights Stream (5 Jul 2023)
* JINGLE JAM DAY 8! The Longest Johns Live Jingle Jam Concert (8 Dec 2023)

#### Chill Streams

* JD and Andy Chilltime - 03/02/2020 Stream Full VOD
* Welcome to Chilltown! With Andy and JD - 23/03/2020 Stream Full VOD

#### Gaming Streams

* Anyone for a Shanty? | Sea of Thieves Singing Live Stream!! (Part 1) (23 Sep 2020)
* Sing & Sail & Kegs me Skellyboys! - 15/06/2020
* Sea of Thieves Tall Tales Marathon for Charity : Part 1 (24 Jun 2020)
* Sea of Sings. Tonight we hit the high C's... - 10/07/2020
* Musical larceny on the big blue wet thing - 14/09/2020
* Sea of Thieves? Singing? Splendid! - 09/10/2020
* Sea of Adventure with BehavingBeardly - 27/11/2020
* Sea of Hijinks with Freyline - 29/11/2020
* Sea of Sings! Let's get splashy! - 12/02/2021

1. ↑ https://youtu.be/UZ8jjvjswYM?t=9069