“Pirate Smith”
Description
Smith scoured the seas "with a noble crew of cutthroats." "He said that grabbing booty was a Briton's pleasing duty." He'd hang foreign foemen from his lanyards. At 37 he is killed by a Spanish bullet and goes to heaven "to rest in Nelson's bosom"
Notes
Sullivan is the author of a number of Irish patriotic poems, of which "God Save Ireland" is probably the best-known. This is one of the few non-nationalist poems I've seen from his pen. Ironically, the Smith he commemorates does not seem to be very famous; there are several Smiths with entries in Rogozinski's _The Wordsworth Dictionary of Pirates_, but none of them fit the hero of this song. - RBW
References
- OLochlainn-More 65, "Pirate Smith" (1 text, 1 tune)
- BI, OLcM065