The Oyster Pirate

Lyrics

[Verse 1] As I walked out of a bar in Port Richmond As I walked out in Port Richmond one day I chanced to run into a clubfooted skipper Was cursing the oil tanks that stand at Bay Way [Verse 2] I see by your sloop there that you were a pirate I see by the bullet holes lacing your bow But the tides have turned bad Right along with the water So over a drink tell me what we do now [Verse 3] For many long years I have pirated oysters From up in Port Newark down to Barnegat Bay But the waters polluted the oysters are dying So is my business and I've no work today [Verse 4] I'd often rake beds undеr Sandy Hook's waters When up come thе coast guard to give me a chase They'd shoot up my hull with their deck mounted fifty cals And up Arthur Kill I would lead 'em the race [Verse 5] It's up Arthur Kill I'd go ducking and dodging I'd slip through the rocks no map maker has found And if by Newark Bay they were still close behind me Then on Shooters Island I'd run 'em aground Scrunch [Verse 6] But no more through queen waters will cutters pursue me There are no more oyster left to despoil The ones that survived New York City's raw sewage Have died of the slicks and the sludge of bay oil [Verse 7] Shed a tear for the oyster beds On the north Jersey Shore Shed a tear for the oysters there You'll taste them no more And they were mighty good too [Verse 8] If I had the cash I would buy a deck cannon To mount on my bow if it took all me pay And I'd sneak out my sloop on some dark moonless midnight And blow that refinery clean out of the bay