Barrett's Privateers - Canadian Folk Song

"Barrett's Privateers" is a modern folk song in the style of a sea shanty, written and performed by Canadian musician Stan Rogers in 1976. The song describes a 1778 summer privateering journey to the Caribbean on a decrepit sloop, the Antelope, captained by Elcid Barrett; when it engages in a failed raid on a larger American ship, the Antelope sinks and all the crew are killed except the singer, who returns six years later "a broken man", having lost both his legs in the disaster. Although Barrett, the Antelope and other specific instances mentioned in the song are fictional, "Barrett's Privateers" is full of many authentic details of privateering in the late 18th century. Performed by Stan Rogers. The painting is of USS Wasp and HMS Frolic in action on 18th October 1812 by Thomas Birch.