And as we came in the still water we gave three roaring cheers, For the rebel he was locked outside—of him we had no fears; But I never shall forget until I come unto my grave, How we were saved on the Guinea coast by the sea-light and the wave. _Chorus._ Rolling over, rolling over, rolling on. The roaring waves they came, Like water into fire all gone, For the sea was all of a flame. Quoth Nat of Stonington, “That _is_ a bruiser, And yet I know darn’d well it could be done With the third wave—but talking of a cruiser, I know a song—’tis just a little one— But first I would observe that a _muskeeter_ Is not an insect, for as you should know The term’s applied unto a different creeter, Which sails about the Gulf of Mexico. Sometimes the thing is called a _guard-accoster_,[5] And when one did accost us with a gun, Out of the way we ginerally tost her; It ain’t hard work to make a greaser run. Well, that’ll do. We got a song before us, And them as likes may holler in the chorus.” ----- [4] This ballad was very much revised, corrected, turned over, and re-turned, by sundry old sailors, chief among whom was the ancient mariner, Captain Stead. Almost the same could be said of all these songs, but this one was specially “cut up and salted down for sea use.” [5] _Guarda Costa._ THE MUSQUITO Said Paul unto Peter, “I see a muskeeter, The boat’s coming over the bay.” Said Peter to Paul, “She is saucy, though small, And the captain is sailing away.” Said Paul unto Peter, “Confound the old creetur, The boat’s coming over the bay.” Said Peter to Paul, “We will soon make her squall, And the captain is sailing away.” Said Paul unto Peter, “We’ll bang her and beat her! The boat’s coming over the bay.” Said Peter to Paul, “Set stun’sles and all, And the captain is sailing away.” Said Paul unto Peter, “We’ll give her short metre, The boat’s coming over the bay.” Said Peter to Paul, “Give her powder and ball, And the captain is sailing away.” Said Paul unto Peter, “We’ll roast her and eat her, The boat’s coming over the bay.” Said Peter to Paul, “We will gobble them all, And the captain is sailing away!” “Now, ’fore we fairly get into the Gulf,” Said Saltonstall, “and fall into its tide, Which swallows up so many like a wolf, I’ll sing a song about a place outside, Where a thing once took place which was a wonder— I mean the story of ‘Old Stand from Under.’” STAND FROM UNDER!