The Oyster Pirate

[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