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Captain Ward and the Rainbow

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Captain Ward and the Rainbow, or Ward the Pirate, is Child ballad 287. It recounts a tale of the pirate Captain Ward, likely Jack Ward.

Contents

Synopsis

The king sends a ship, the Rainbow, after Captain Ward. In one variant, the ship carries 500 seamen, in another it carries 1,300. Ward defeats the Rainbow and sends taunts back to the king, "If he reign king of all the land, I will reign king at sea." In many variants, Ward claims to have never harmed an English ship.

Musical adaptations

  • The song was set for four-part chorus (TTBB) by Ralph Vaughan Williams in Folk Songs from the Eastern Counties (1912). Williams had previously (1906) made use of the melody in his Norfolk Rhapsodies.
  • References

    Captain Ward and the Rainbow Wikipedia