Ballad of 'Long Ben'

His gold teeth glistened in the sun As ‘Long Ben Avery’ turned To face his captives, head lowered, Their providence to learn For Avery was a pirate bold Trained in the Kings’ Navy Who, disillusioned with his lot, Captained a mutiny He seized ‘The Fancy’, in Cadiz An act both rare, and bold Then set out on the briny sea In search of ships with gold He plundered every vessel met With not one man set free And soon, his name spread fear and dread Across the seven seas For two years, not a ship was safe As treasure he amassed, But his biggest booty taken Would prove to be his last He sailed down to the Mandab Strait And other ships did meet Who chose him as their Admiral, To raid the India Fleet The ‘Mogul’s’ flagships, tried to flee Chased by the pirate fleet But a brutal, two hour battle, Ended with their defeat The pirates tortured those they caught Without a thought, or care As they searched on board for treasure For each, to glean their share The ‘Mogul’, proffered swift revenge Hunting the pirates down, Swearing each villain, had to hang For crimes against his crown The pirates scattered, far and wide To skirt captivity But most were caught, and hung with rope Strung from the nearest tree But Avery, was never found Or his share of the hoard It’s rumoured that his crew killed him, And threw him overboard No matter what became of him Or what, was ‘Long Ben’s’ fate No man’s ever bettered his feat In history, to date.