"Navy Island Gold" is a traditional New Brunswick

New Brunswick

New Brunswick is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the only province in the federation that is constitutionally bilingual . The provincial capital is Fredericton and Saint John is the most populous city. Greater Moncton is the largest Census Metropolitan Area...

 song about the site of a supposed buried treasure

Buried treasure

A buried treasure is an important part of the popular beliefs surrounding pirates and Old West outlaws. According to popular conception, criminals and others often buried their stolen fortunes in remote places, intending to return for them later, often with the use of treasure maps.-Pirate...

 on Navy Island

Navy Island, New Brunswick

Navy Island was a small island situated within the Inner Harbour of Saint John, New Brunswick in Canada. For centuries, Navy Island existed as a narrow, oval shaped hunk of rock sitting roughly at the turning point of the harbour where the deep open water ends and the harbour approaches the...

 in Saint John

Saint John, New Brunswick

City of Saint John , or commonly Saint John, is the largest city in the province of New Brunswick, and the first incorporated city in Canada. The city is situated along the north shore of the Bay of Fundy at the mouth of the Saint John River. In 2006 the city proper had a population of 74,043...

 Harbour. It is most likely based on accounts of privateers from the Royal Kennebecasis Adventurers Society

Royal Kennebecasis Adventurers Society

The Royal Kennebecasis Adventurers Society , is a name that refers to several groups, both real and fictitious. Historically, it refers specifically to the Kanabicases Adventurers Society, a guild of smugglers and privateers founded in Saint John, New Brunswick between the late 18th and early 19th...

 who captured prizes from American merchant vessels during the War of 1812

War of 1812

The War of 1812 was a military conflict fought between the forces of the United States of America and those of the British Empire. The Americans declared war in 1812 for several reasons, including trade restrictions because of Britain's ongoing war with France, impressment of American merchant...

. It is believed that the song's lyrics would lead to the discovery of the treasure's location, however the full set of verses has never been found in its entirety. The song also establishes the folk story of the Navy Island Ghost, which is supposedly visible as a glowing light on the island's shore at dusk.

The tale of the Navy Island Gold has existed in popular culture since the nineteenth century, however a sheet of lyrics was discovered in the early 1950s during the construction of post-war housing in Saint John's North End. The lyrics were scribed on a severely aged parchment, dated 1823, however many lines of the song were missing or illegible. The visible lyrics have been transcribed below.

Lyrics

One foggy night,

In Saint John town;

The General Smyth, [A Privateer]

Set her anchor down;

And to the shore,

Came a raucous band;

Who pulled up their skiff,

On the Harbour sand.

Chorus:

And Since that Day,

We'll roam the Bay,

Until we find the Navy Island Gold!

A man named Bones,

Took a chest ashore;

The rest stood in fear

(remainder of verse missing)

Chorus

He killed his men,

And cursed their souls;

To roam as ghosts,

And protect the gold;

(remainder of verse illegible)

Chorus

Fort Howe struck its gun,

And they turned to run;

(remainder of verse missing)

Chorus