Admiral Thomas Cochrane
Was known as le loup de mer—
A name the French awarded
him;
You could say it was his nom de guerre.
You could say he was the
greatest captain
A frigate ever had
But such a bold assertion
Might be thought a tad
Unseemly, given the other
Admirals I could mention:
Shovell, Byng and Norris,
Who are surely in
contention.
But none, ’tis said, did
more
To further the British
cause
Than Cochrane, the victor
of
The Napoleonic wars.
He had a way with the
matelots,
Addressed them in their
lingo
And then he sank their
ruddy ships
Without remorse, by Jingo!
He always chose the
dangerous course,
His motto was “I’ll risk
it!”
And of all his daring
exploits
This one takes the biscuit:
He disguised himself as
Bonaparte
And boldly stepped aboard
La Méduse, as the
sparkling sun
Shone brightly on his sword
And, addressing the ship’s
company,
With a confident cri-de-coeur,
He gave the order to set
sail,
To wit: “À l’eau, c’est
l’heure!”
