Music and Shanties

Pirates Love To Sing!

Singing and listening to music were common ways for sailors aboard any vessel- whether naval, merchant or pirate- to pass the time on long voyages. Typical instruments found on a ship were the violin or fiddle, mandolin, fife, tin whistle, concertina, and more recently the harmonica. Any sailor who could play one of these instruments was highly valued by the Captain and officers because music was an effective way to increase morale and keep the crew productive and in good spirits.

 

A Sea Shanty (or Chantey) is a working song that helped to relieve the drudgery of hard work while at sea. Shanties had a “caller” who sang the verses, and the rest of the men would sing a return after every few lines. All would join in to sing the chorus if there was one, often in harmony. The idea is the same as the working songs sung by prisoners on chain gangs, by slave workers in the fields, and soldiers in the military.

 

Fun fact:  In many sea shanties you will hear the caller or the men say what sounds like “Timmy” or “Tummy”, but actually they are saying “To me!”, which is the cue for the men to sing the return back to the caller. A good example is in Blow the Man Down, where “To Me” is sung before the return “Way, hey, blow the man down”.

 

There are many other songs in a variety of musical styles written about pirates, maritime adventures and life at sea. Some of these are quite popular in the pirate community and are performed regularly at faires and festivals, so it’s a good idea to be familiar with them so you can join in the singing. One thing to keep in mind about these shanties and songs- some are quite old, and the lyrics have changed over time as people forgot, altered or created entirely new verses, so you will find different versions by different performers. When deciding on the examples included on this page I’ve tried to use the most common versions.

 

Blow The Man Down

This English shanty first appears in print in the mid 19th century, but it’s likely it was being sung by pirates and sailors for many years prior. Like most shanties, the lyrics and story varied depending on who was singing, but the basic refrain and melody were consistent. Many people are familiar with this song because of the Popeye cartoons, where it was used as Bluto’s theme song and the basis of one of Popeye’s favorite lines, “Well blow me down!”

The two versions here have very different lyrics. The first is a typical tale of a tough sailor getting into fights in port, while the second recounts a more amorous adventure…

Randy Dandy-O

This rousing shanty was a “caps’n song”. Working the capstan on a ship was particularly grueling, physically demanding work and the steady beat and often bawdy lyrics kept the men entertained and engaged. This shanty was featured in the fourth Assassin’s Creed video game and became a favorite among players. Here are two excellent performances:

Fifteen Men on a Dead Man’s Chest

“The Derelict”, commonly known as “Fifteen Men on a Dead Man’s Chest”, is based on the 1891 poem “Derelict” by Young E. Allison.  Allison’s poem is an expansion of four lines of a song sung by the character of Billy Bones in Robert Louis Stevenson’s famous book “Treasure Island”.

First set to music for the 1901 Broadway musical of “Treasure Island”, it was later used in numerous film, music and television productions, and is rumored to have been the inspiration for the famous Disney song “Yo Ho, Yo Ho, A Pirate’s Life for Me!”.  This version is one of the most popular, recorded by The Jolly Rogers in 1993.

Don’t Forget Your Old Shipmate

Don’t Forget Yer Old Shipmate is a navel traditional song that was very popular among British Royal Navy sailors during the Napoleonic Era, roughly 1799 to 1815. In it, a ship’s gunner says goodbye to his best friend at the end of their tour of duty together. It continues to be a favorite of sailors and can still be heard on British Navy ships today.

A portion of this shanty is sung by Captain Jack Aubrey (Russell Crowe) and the officers of the H.M.S. Surprise in the movie “Master and Commander – The Far Side of the World”.