Devil’s Rock

words: Ed Haaker and Allan Thomas
music: Michael Ruff

I was just 23 and it seemed to me
The key to life was to be at sea
Loved exotic women of the night
And caught a dose
Been in brawls with danger close
Once torpedoed and lost at sea
But I always kept some West Indian rum with me

I enjoyed that trip six weeks before
I smashed her up four miles from shore
Lost my ticket it was a bust
Sailing on that old bucket of rust

For 50 years she plowed rough seas
While starving rats ate our provisions of cheese
And on that ship to help me think
A good supply of rum that I would drink
But the rum helped me lose a man at sea
And I shall pay that debt and never be free
My soul was filled with fear and shock
When I smashed that filthy old ship on devil's rock

I staggered to the wheelhouse
To keep watch that fateful night
Tried to kept an even keel
But the wind shifted and I lost sight
Then the ship rose up and hit something
I couldn’t see
And swept the helmsman off his feet
And into the main mast not three yards in front of me

The blood gushed out when he struck his head
And he lie there already dead
I cradled his head in my lap and cried
And cursed him for his foolish pride
And wished I was back in dry dock
The night we crashed into devils rock

When back in port I stood before the inquiry board
And swore the truth before the almighty lord
They found me innocent of any crime
But I’m paying my penance till the end of time

Now I sit in an old sailors rest home
With the cranky sea in view
Faded carpet on the floors
Walls of green and blue
But nightmares awaken me constant as a clock
Reminding me of that horrific night
The night on devil's rock

©2019 Black Bamboo Music - BMI
Ruff Mix Music - BMI
Ed Haaker Music - BMI