Female Warrior

The Valiant Maiden.

The New Play-House Garland: Containing several of the best New Songs. I. A new Song before the Royal Family. II. The Femmale Sea Captain; or, the painful Damsel. III. A New Play-house song, in the Beggars Opera IV. The Tradesman’s Resolution.

The Female Sea-Captain; or, The painful Damsel.

Come all you Damsels of Sunderland fair,
Come listen a while, I will to you declare;
It’s of a brisk Damsel, as now you shall hear.
Who ventur’d her Life for the Sake of her Dear.

Then in Man’s Apparel well rigged was she,
She was gallantly rigged and fit for the sea;
She was gallantly riggee in Royal State,
And on board the sweet William she shipped herswelf straight.
This Damsel was brought up to write and to read,
And also to cypher, if she stood in need;
She served him two Twelve-months with all her whole Heart,
So bravely she learned the Mariner’s Art.

She served him two Twelve-months, two Twelvemonths and more,
At length they steer’d from fair England’s Shore,
They ‘spied a proud Frechman stand off in the Main,
Which caused them to hoist up their Top-sails again.

Come let us be merry Boys, let our Hearts live,
And often our Enemies let us observe:
we soon overtook them on the Ocean so wide,
The first Salutation was a Broad-side.

They gave us another as good as we sent,
And to sink each other it was our intent;
But in the second Broad-side our Captain was slain,
And this Damsel was forced in his Room to remain.

We fought them four Hours in the Battle so rare,
We scarce had a man in our ship that could steer,
We scarce had a Man that could fire a Gun,
Till at length the Blood out of their Scoppers did run.

Then Quarter, Oh! Quarter, the Frenchmen the cry’d,
No Quarter, no Quarter, the Damsel reply’d,
You have the best Quarters’ can you afford,
You must either Sink, or all come on board.

We sunk the proud Frenchman in the Ocean so wide,
The Ship she carried fifty Brass Guns in her Side;
And our goodly Ship carried just Thirty-three,
So bravely we overcame our Enemy.

Come let us away for Old England with speed,
Sweet William he knew not his true love indeed;
Nor did she make herself known unto him,
Till she had laid up her ship, and paid off the men.

Come let us be merry Boys, here’s a Glass of good Wine
You may drink to your true Love, and I’ll drink to mine,
You may drink to the gallant brisk Damsel of Fame,
That went Captain of the New Frigate by Name,

With that the Colour struck into his Face,
He could not speak for a pretty long Space;
He call’d her his Honey, his Joy, and his Dear,
She said, it was true Love that bid me not hear.

So if you any more of the Ditty will hear,
the King he gave to her one Hundred a Year,
All for to maintain her in Raiment of Gold,
Because she fought with a Courage so bold. Thank

*Transcriber’s note: Dugaw’s catalogue contains multiple variants of this ballad; this is the first of the variants listed. To review other variants of this ballad, please consult the Dugaw catalogue.