“Blood in Your Veins”

Lyrics, Theme, Style: Tim Hendricks

© Blackbeard World 2025

In seventeen-nineteen, Nassau skies,
A babe was born 'neath Caribbean tides.
His mama sailed him to the Carolinas’ shore,
Never spoke his daddy’s name, not once before.

She worked two jobs and sang him lullabies,
Said, “You don’t need a man to teach you how to rise.”
But when her time was short, and the end was near,
She whispered truth he’d waited all his life to hear…

“You’ve got Blackbeard’s blood runnin’ through your veins,
A man of charm, a man of shame.
He chased gold dreams with a pirate's blade,
Then paid the price that bad choices made.
But you—my son—you made your own way,
Raised a family strong, come what may.
It ain’t the blood that makes the man,
It’s the life he builds with his own hands.”

He sat in the shade at ninety years old,
With silver hair and a story to be told.
Six kids, twenty-two grands in the yard,
Thirty-four greats playin’ soft and hard.

He called 'em close with a voice worn thin,
Said, “There’s a fire that burns deep within.
A tale of ships and cannon fire,
Of one man’s fall and a new man’s rise.”

“You’ve got Blackbeard’s blood runnin’ through your veins,
A storm of pride and a trace of pain.
He sought fortune down a darker trail,
Where honor cracked and dreams could fail.
But look at y’all—how far you’ve come,
With steady hearts and work well done.
You ain't bound by a pirate's chains,
You choose the meaning of your name.”

He said, “The blood in your veins don’t seal your fate,
You can rise above or choose to break.
Let legacy be more than gold,
Let it be the stories that you told.”

“You’ve got Blackbeard’s blood runnin’ through your veins,
But that don’t mean you’ll live the same.
Build with truth, stand with grace,
And leave behind a better place.
I lived a life I won’t regret,
'Cause I gave more than I ever kept.
And when I go, don’t cry in vain—
Just honor the blood in your veins.”

And as he closed his eyes that night,
They swore to carry his torch of light.
Not for gold, nor glory's chains,
But for love, and the blood in their veins.