A maroon is a type of rocket which makes a loud banging report (noise) and a bright flash. It is used as an alarm or warning, for example the British Royal National Lifeboat Institution uses these rockets to call the crew when the lifeboat needs to be launched.
The RNLI's use of this warning device was immortalized in the British folk song, "The Mary Stanford of Rye":
"On November 15th, with the storm at its height,
The Alice of Rigga was losing her fight,
Seven miles from Dungeness, she was drifting and lost,
And the crew prayed and cried to the moon,
And that's when they heard the maroon."
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