On a brig loaded with timber headed for the north Maine coast,
They took on some rough seas
The captain and his slave fought back the heavy waves,
But they were threatening to break her up so badly

See two days before they left the outer banks,
And made good time up to Boston
But just north of Essex the sky grew dark,
He missed his mark he was making,
And life can change so fast

The captain had seen many a day,
When the winds blew and the waters raged
But it was just a part of the life he made for himself,
Running the coast of New England

The ship heaved and cracked,
Threw the men on their backs as the water came rushing in
The captain fought hard yet
He yelled above the splintering wreck, I have done you wrong son
I should be forsaken for what I have done

But Ben reached a timber to stay afloat
He grabbed the captain's braided coat
He swam him to the nearest shore
Dragged him up 'til he couldn't pull no more,
And left him breathin', yeah left him breathin' dry

The captain said in all my days,
I have never seen anybody save the very person who kept him enslaved
God dam it Ben, you should have your freedom
For what you have done

And I should be forsaken for what I have done

Somewhere off the Maine coast,
At the mouth of the New Meadows River there's an island,
Where a marooned man lived out his life quietly under tied and sky
Never forgetting when the sea rose up so high

The captain said in all my days,
I have never seen anybody save the very person who kept him enslaved
God dam it Ben, you should have your freedom
For what you have done