Captain Kidd (song)

"The Ballad of Captain Kidd" (or simply, "Captain Kidd") is an English song about Captain William Kidd, who was executed for piracy in London on May 23, 1701.[1] It is listed as number 1900 in the Roud Folk Song Index.

Captain Kidd burying the Bible (1837)

The song was printed in Britain in 1701, and it traveled to the colonies "almost immediately".[2]

Washington Irving's 1824 work Tales of a Traveller makes mention of the song:

"There 's a fine old song about him, all to the tune of —
My name is Captain Kidd,
As I sailed, as I sailed—
And then it tells all about how he gained the Devil's good graces by burying the Bible :
I had the Bible in my hand,
As I sailed, as I sailed,
And I buried it in the sand
As I sailed. —

The song survived in the oral tradition long enough for it to be recorded from traditional singers. Bob Roberts of Dorset, England was recorded singing the song by Peter Kennedy in 1960,[3] whilst Helen Creighton, Edith Fowke and Helen Hartness Flanders recorded several versions in Canada and New England.[4]

The song shares a melody with the American folk hymn What Wondrous Love Is This.[5]

Selected recordings

In Mormonism

The song was reportedly a childhood favorite of Mormonism founder Joseph Smith.[6]

In Methodism

In 1830, the song was included in a book of Methodist camp meeting hymns, "New and Improved Camp Meeting Hymn Book," retitled as "How Precious is the Name" and featuring new lyrics.[7]

The song was adapted for the TV science fiction series The Expanse as "The Ballad of Captain Ashford", a song the character Klaes Ashford (played by David Strathairn) sings bits of throughout the fourth season.

References
  1. "The Ballad of Captain Kidd (traditional)". Cantaria Folk Song Archive. Archived from the original on 8 May 2014.
  2. Kidd, David. "Captain Kidd Music". Archived from the original on 27 June 2014.
  3. "Captain Kidd (Roud Folksong Index S318517)". The Vaughan Williams Memorial Library. Retrieved 15 October 2021.
  4. "Search: RN1900 sound". www.vwml.org. Retrieved 15 October 2021.
  5. Bonner, p. 378
  6. Huggins, Ronald V. (2003). "From Captain Kidd's Treasure Ghost to the Angel Moroni: Changing Dramatis Personae in Early Mormonism" (PDF). Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought. 36 (4).
  7. "Minutes, 17 August 1835, p. 103, footnote 47, The Joseph Smith Papers". www.josephsmithpapers.org. Archived from the original on 2 March 2018. Retrieved 22 January 2022.

Bibliography
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