Song Description
Based on the book ?To Have and To Have Not? by Ernest Hemingway, which he wrote when he lived in Key West.
Song Length |
4:07 |
Genre |
Folk - General |
Lyrics
The Ballad of Harry Morgan
I?m gonna run that rum gonna run those men cause I aint going on relief
My name is Harry Morgan and my little girls gotta eat
My boat?s docked in Havana man I?m feeling beat
I lost my pay and tackle to some no good lying cheat
Met a guy in a café said he?s got a job for me
Now I?m gonna take it so I can feed my family
It?s 90 miles to Key West got a shotgun by my side
There?s a rummy on board to help me he?s barely alive
You get a hundred bucks a head to put ?em on dry land
I?ll dodge the law cause starving is more then I can stand
Chorus
Now I?m bringing in a load of liquor I can see that Conch hotel
But I?ve got a funny feeling that this plan?s gone to hell
Just a little bootleggin? I didn?t mean no harm
But in the fight that followed I lost my right arm
Now I?ve got a couple of outlaws put a gun up to my head
They said get this boat a moving or we?ll pump you full of lead
So I ducked down below grabbed my shotgun off the floor
With my good arm I came blazing out that cabin door
Chorus
Now I lay in a big red puddle bleeding myself dry
I look up at the stars knowing I will die
The odds were stacked against me but I didn?t accept defeat
I laid them outlaws down I fed ?em to the sea
Leave behind my wife and three girls I pray that they?ll get by
I know they miss their daddy cause I can hear them cry
Well you can?t pick circumstances you?ve gotta take ?em as they come
You get cut by the sword you gotta fight back with a gun
Chorus
So I ran that rum and I ran those men even though I ended up dead
I don?t regret nuthin? cause I kept my little girls fed