The Story of Benjamin Darling, Part 1

On a brig loaded with timber headed for the north Maine coast
They took on some rough seas
The captain and his slave fought back the heavy waves
But they were threatening
To break her up so badly

See two days before they left the outer banks
And made good time up to Boston
But just north of Essex the sky grew dark
He missed his mark he was making and life can change so fast

The captain had seen many a day
When the winds blew and the waters raged
But it was just a part of the life he made for himself
Running the coast of New England

The ship heaved and cracked
Threw the men on their backs as the water came rushing in
The captain fought hard yet
He yelled against the splintering wreck
I have done you wrong son
And I should be forsaken for what I have done

But Ben reached a timber to stay afloat
He grabbed the captain's braided coat
He swam him to the nearest shore
Dragged him up 'til he couldn't pull no more
And he left him breathin', left him breathin' dry

The captain said in all my days I never seen anybody save
The very person who kept him enslaved
God damn it Ben
You should have your freedom for what you have done

I should be forsaken for what I have done

Somewhere off the Maine coast
At the mouth of the New Meadows River there's a island
Where a marooned man lived out his life quietly under tied and sky
Never forgetting when the sea rose up so high

The captain said in all my days
I never seen anybody save
The very person who kept him enslaved
God damn it Ben
You should have your freedom for what you have done