[Intro]
[Verse]
N.C.
Fare-well to you, my faithful Nancy
And a thousand times, adieu
N.C.
For the constable comes up from Brackley Market
And a hundred volunteers too
[Verse]
No more will we hide in the forest
For fear they would run us to ground
But the wild sea, we sailed upon it
Too close to the wind
[Instrumental]
[Verse]
For twenty years we have roved the highways
Northamptonshire
Daventry down to the southern byways
Topped both the rich and the poor
[Verse]
For ofttimes our families were starving
And the highway it kept them alive
And the wild sea, we sailed upon it
Too close to the wind
[Instrumental]
[Verse]
Tonight I lie in a darkened dungeon
Condemned on the gallows to die
While the man who gave us away is only
Bound for Australia
[Verse]
No man could be found to defend us
And naught but abuse came our way
But the wild sea, we sailed upon it
Too close to the wind
[Instrumental]
[Verse]
And the clouds they rise over Northampton market
And the crowds pour into the town
And the people will throng in these streets until sunset
When the hangman cuts us down
[Verse]
And fifty children of Culworth
Their fathers are taken away
And the wild sea, they sailed upon it
Too close to the wind
The wild sea, we sailed upon it
Too close to the wind
[Outro]