Great Britain -- History, Naval -- Poetry; Sea songs -- Great Britain
In happie houre our foes we did descry,
All under saile with gallant wind as they cam passing by.
Which suddaine tidings to Plymmouth being brought,
Full soone our Lord high Admirall for to pursue them sought.
And to his traine coragiously he said:
‘Now for the Lord and our good Queene to fight be not afraide.
Regard our cause, and play your partes like men:
The Lord no doubt will prosper us in all our actions then.’
This great Galleazzo, which was so huge and hye,
That like a bulwarke on the sea did seeme to each man’s eye,
There was it taken, unto our great reliefe;
And divers nobles, in which traine Don Pietro was the chiefe.
Strong was she stuft, with cannons great and small,
And other instruments of warre, which we obtained all.
A certaine signe of good successe we trust,
That God will overthrow the rest, as he hath done the first.
Then did our navie pursue the rest amaine
With roaring noise of cannons great, till they neare Callice came.
With manly courage they followed them so fast,
Another mighty Gallion did seem to yeeld at last,
And in distress, for savegard of their lives,
A flag of truce they did hang out, with many mournful cries:
Which when our men did perfectly espie,
Some little barkes they sent to her, to board her quietly.
But these false Spaniards, esteeming them but weake,
When they within their danger came, their malice forth did breake.
With charged cannons, they laide about them then;
For to destroy those proper barkes, and all their valiant men.
Which when our men perceived so to be,
Like lions fierce they forward went, to ’quite this injurie,
And bourding them, with strong and mightie hand,
They kild the men untill their arke did sinke in Callice sand.
The chiefest captaine of this Gallion so hie,
Don Hugo de Moncaldo he, within this fight did die,
Who was the Generall of all the Gallions great:
But through his braines with pouders force a bullet strong did beat.
And manie more by sword did loose their breath;
And manie more within the sea did swimme and tooke their death.
There might you see the salt and foming flood,
Dyed and staind like scarlet red, with store of Spanish blood.
This mightie vessell was threescore yards in length:
Most wonderfull to each man’s eie, for making and for strength,
In her was placed an hundreth cannons great;
And mightily provided eke, with bread, corne, wine and meat.
There was of oares two hundered, I weene:
Three-score foote and twelve in length, well measured to be seene,
And yet subdued, with manie others more:
And not a ship of ours lost, the Lord be thankt therefore.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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