The Dreadnought
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This song is a close relative of La Pique, sharing a tune, chorus, and some lyrics depending on the version, though many collectors class them as separate songs. While the referent of "La Pique" is not clear and sometimes changed between versions, this one refers specifically to Dreadnought, a clipper ship built by Currier & Townsend in Massachussetts. The ship was launched in 1853 and sailed the Liverpool/New York route until switching to the San Francisco route in 1863, where it continued until being wrecked off Cape Horn in 1869.[1]
The song is not part of the Johns' normal repertoire, but appeared on the March 2026 livestream as guest's choice, led by Seán Dagher.
Factoids
The ship gained a formidable reputation under its first captain, Samuel Samuels, who wrote in his autobiography, "She was built for hard usage and to make a reputation for herself and me and I intended that she should do her duty, or that we both should sink."[2] According to one later writer, Samuels "often outraced the British steamers across the ocean tracks....but did not mention how he beat the British smokeboxes. He locked the passengers belowdecks, raised every thread of canvas, and deliberately hunted hurricanes to blow him rapidly across."[3]
Lyrics
Lyrics based on the livestream How To Stream Your Dagher
There is a flash packet, a packet of fame
She hails from New York and The Dreadnought's her name
She's bound for the westward where the wide waters flow
Bound away in The Dreadnought, to the westward we'll go
{Chorus}
And it's down, down, down, derry down
Bound away! Bound away
Where the wide waters flow
Bound away in The Dreadnought to the westward we'll go
Now the Dreadnought is sailing the Atlantic so wide
With the high-rolling seas crashing down by her side
With her topsail set taut for the banner to show
Bound away in The Dreadnought, to the westward we'll go
{Chorus}
Now the Dreadnought's becalmed on the Banks of Newfoundland
Where the water's all green and the bottom's all sand
Where the fish of the ocean all swim to and fro
Bound away in The Dreadnaught to the westward we'll go
{Chorus}
Now the Dreadnought has landed in New York once more
So go ahead shipmates, to the ones you adore
For when you will see them again, no one knows
Bound away in The Dreadnought, to the westward she goes
{Chorus}
Bound away! Bound away
Where the wide waters flow
Bound away in The Dreadnought, to the westward we'll go