Ein Mann geht nicht unter, which can be heard on
Seeräuber Report, came into my repertoire at the behest of Manfred Eichholz of the
The Vegesack Whalermen. The song was written by Heinz Gietz (music), Fritz Graßhoff (lyrics) and sung by German actress
Ingrid van Bergen.
The song starts off with a cry from the heart:
Stinkende Planken - elendes Wrack (Stinking planks and a lousy wreck!) and goes on with the strident message of a man's fate is in his own hands no matter how serious the current situation. Even if on the gallows with a noose round your neck it is up to you to tear it off! The final verse of :
Denk an die 'Dragon', an Silver und Flint
Wie die vor die Hunde gegangen sind
Jack hängt in New Port, Warley am Kap
Das waren Versager - die waren zu schlapp
reminds us of the fate of
Jack Rackham aka Calico Jack (see the same-named song
Das Hosenlied vom Calico Jack) who was hanged at Port Royal. The Dragon is possibly Sir Francis Drake, Silver and Flint are most likely to be the fictitious Long John Silver and Captain Flint. Whoever Warley was Weißt der Henker! An educated guess is a misspelling and/or mispronunciation of
Richard Worley, an American Caribbean pirate who was hanged probably in Jamestown, Virginia. Whatever - as the song goes they were all losers and all too lazy!