Pirate Legends of the Caribbean Seas - Pirate Poems & Vids

A Collection of Sea Shanties (vocal only)

Aug 21, 2015

A collection of shanties with no instruments.

Horrible Histories - Blackbeard's Song

Jun 17, 2010

The famous pirate and his crew sing

about his vicious reign of the high seas.

The Taking of Teach the Pirate
by Benjamin Franklin - 1719

https://www.revolutionary-war-and-beyond.com/the-taking-of-teach-the-pirate-by-benjamin-franklin.html

One of Ben Franklin's earliest writings, The Taking of Teach the Pirate (also called The Downfall of Piracy) was written by a twelve year old Ben upon hearing of the news of the killing of Edward Teach, also known as Blackbeard the Pirate, who had stolen from shipping vessels and coastal towns along the east coast of North America and the East Indies for several years.

The poem recounts the last hours of Blackbeard's life as he fought against Lieutenant Robert Maynard and his sailors. Sent out to capture the loathed pirate by Alexander Spotswood, Royal Governor of Virginia, Lieutenant Maynard cornered Blackbeard at Ocracoke Island off the coast of North Carolina. After a short battle on the morning of November 22, 1718, Blackbeard was dead, his severed head proudly displayed from the HMS Jane, as Lieutenant Maynard sailed home to claim the prize for killing such a despised soul.

The Taking of Teach the Pirate

by 12 year old Benjamin Franklin

Will you hear of a bloody Battle, Lately fought upon the Seas, It will make your Ears to rattle, And your Admiration cease; Have you heard of Teach the Rover, And his Knavery on the Main; How of Gold he was a Lover, How he lov'd all ill got Gain.

When the Act of Grace appeared, Captain Teach with all his Men, Unto Carolina steered, Where they kindly us'd him then; There he marry'd to a Lady, And gave her five hundred Pound, But to her he prov'd unsteady, For he soon march'd off the Ground.And returned, as I tell you, To his Robbery as before, Burning, sinking Ships of value, Filling them with Purple Gore; When he was at Carolina, There the Governor did send, To the Governor of Virginia, That he might assistance lend.

Then the Man of War's Commander, Two small Sloops he fitted out, Fifty Men he put on board, Sir, Who resolv'd to stand it out: The Lieutenant he commanded both the Sloops, and you shall hear, How before he landed, He suppress'd them without Fear.

Valiant Maynard as he sailed, Soon the Pirate did espy, With his Trumpet he then hailed, And to him they did reply: Captain Teach is our Commander, Maynard said, he is the Man, Whom I am resolv'd to hang Sir, Let him do the best he can.

Teach reply'd unto Maynard, You no Quarters here shall see, But be hang'd on the Main-yard, You and all your Company; Maynard said, I none desire, Of such Knaves as thee and thine, None I'll give, Teach then replyed, My Boys, give me a Glass of Wine.

He took the Glass, and drank Damnation, Unto Maynard and his Crew; To himself and Generation, Then the Glass away he threw; Brave Maynard was resolv'd to have him, Tho' he'd Cannons nine or ten: Teach a broadside quickly gave him, Killing sixteen valiant Men.

Maynard boarded him, and to it They fell with Sword and Pistol too; They had Courage, and did show it, Killing the Pirate's Crew. Teach and Maynard on the Quarter, Fought it out most manfully, Maynard's Sword did cut him shorter, Losing his Head, he there did die.

Every Sailor fought while he Sir, Power had to weild [sic] the Sword, Not a Coward could you see Sir, Fear was driven from aboard: Wounded Men on both Sides fell Sir, 'Twas a doleful Sight to see, Nothing could their Courage quell Sir, O, they fought courageously.

When the bloody Fight was over, We're inform'd by a Letter writ, Teach's Head was made a Cover, To the Jack Staff of the Ship: Thus they sailed to Virginia, And when they the Story told, How they kill'd the Pirates many, They'd Applause from young and old.

- BF

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Blackbeard, Bluebeard & Redbeard

A Pirate Story by Eric Herman

Sep 17, 2008

Bluebeard and Redbeard and Blackbeard

From the book My Hippo Has the Hiccups

by Kenn Nesbitt (Author), Ethan Long (Illustrator)

Blackbeard and Bluebeard and Redbeard, they say,

Hijacked a ship and went sailing away.
Seaward they scudded and skipped on the breeze,
Searching for treasure to plunder and seize.

Riches, regrettably, couldn’t be found.
Ships bearing booty were nowhere around.
Therefor the buccaneers wandered afloat
thinking of things they could do with their boat.

Bluebeard said, “Aargh, since we’ve nothing to do,
Why don’t we paint our new pirate ship blue?”
Redbeard spoke up, saying, “Aye, but instead,
wouldn’t ye rather we painted her red?”

Blackbeard said, “Blimey, you’re both off the track.
No other color’s as handsome as black.”
“Blue!” shouted Bluebeard, and Redbeard yelled “Red!”
Blackbeard said, “Black! You’re both cracked in the head!”

Redbeard grabbed brushes and buckets and paints
Over his shipmates insistent complaints.
Rather than letting him paint the ship red,
They got some blue paint and black paint instead.

Swiftly the three of them painted their boat,
Each a completely dissimilar coat,
Making a color not red, black or blue;
Mixing, instead, an entirely new hue.

That was the last that was seen of the three
Simply because they refused to agree.
They weren’t torpedoed or shelled or harpooned.
They disappeared, for their ship was marooned.


Kenn Nesbitt

Copyright © 2009.

All Rights Reserved.

Reading Level: Grade 4

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This most famous fictional pirate was real

"Pirates - A Ballad of John Silver"

by John Masefield (as read by Tom O'Bedlam)

May 20, 2011

A Ballad of John Silver

by John Masefield

We were schooner-rigged and rakish, with a long and lissome hull,

And we flew the pretty colours of the crossbones and the skull;

We'd a big black Jolly Roger flapping grimly at the fore,

And we sailed the Spanish Water in the happy days of yore.

We'd a long brass gun amidships, like a well-conducted ship,

We had each a brace of pistols and a cutlass at the hip;

It's a point which tells against us, and a fact to be deplored,

But we chased the goodly merchant-men and laid their ships aboard.

Then the dead men fouled the scuppers and the wounded filled the chains,

And the paint-work all was spatter dashed with other peoples brains,

She was boarded, she was looted, she was scuttled till she sank.

And the pale survivors left us by the medium of the plank.

O! then it was (while standing by the taffrail on the poop)

We could hear the drowning folk lament the absent chicken coop;

Then, having washed the blood away, we'd little else to do

Than to dance a quiet hornpipe as the old salts taught us to.

O! the fiddle on the fo'c'sle, and the slapping naked soles,

And the genial "Down the middle, Jake, and curtsey when she rolls!"

With the silver seas around us and the pale moon overhead,

And the look-out not a-looking and his pipe-bowl glowing red.

Ah! the pig-tailed, quidding pirates and the pretty pranks we played,

All have since been put a stop to by the naughty Board of Trade;

The schooners and the merry crews are laid away to rest,

A little south the sunset in the islands of the Blest.

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Pirate Music - The Jolly Roger

Mar 20, 2018

Fantasy & World Music by the Fiechters

Pirate music about a pirate ship that goes on many dangerous expeditions and adventures in search of gold and treasures. This music is called The Jolly Roger. We hope you enjoy it!

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40 Useful Pirate Phrases for the

International Talk Like a Pirate Day

By Islands Staff

September 18, 2017

Arrr, matey, brush up on your pirate

speak before this pirate day is upon us.

Avast ye, hearties: Tuesday, September 19 is National Talk Like a Pirate Day and you don’t want to look like a scallywag. Captain Syntax shares a few useful phrases in this video so your pirate lingo will sound like that of an old salt, matey. And don’t forget the rum… er, grog.

How to Talk Like a Pirate

Sep 18, 2017

Jake and the Never Land Pirates

Talk like a Pirate! | Disney Junior UK

Apr 16, 2011

Sing and dance along with the Never Land Pirate Band!

PIRATE VOICE TUTORIAL & TIPS

(How to talk like a pirate!)

Jul 28, 2020

Popular Pirate Phrases

Abandon Ship: An order to leave the vessel immediately, usually in the face of some imminent danger

Ahoy: Hello

Avast Ye: A command meaning pay attention or listen

Aye, Aye: Yes, I understand

Batten Down the Hatches: When everything on a ship is tied down to prepare for an approaching storm

Booty: Refers to any ill-gotten goods swiped from another party

Bounty: The reward for capturing a criminal

Briny Deep: The ocean

Carouser: A reckless person who drinks too much

Chantey: A song that sailors sing in unison while working

Clap of Thunder: A strong alcoholic beverage, usually referring to a shot

Davy Jones’ Locker: Graveyard at the bottom of the sea for those killed or drowned

Dead Men Tell No Tales: An expression that means dead people will not betray any secrets. Used as a threat to kill someone, or a way of saying there were no survivors.

Doubloons: Types of gold coins

Fire in the Hole: A cannon is about to be fired

Grog: Diluted rum, but can be used to refer to any alcoholic concoction

Hang the Jib: To pout or frown

Hearties: Friends, comrades

Hornswaggle: To swindle something, usually money, out of someone else

Jolly Roger: The name for the iconic black pirate flag featuring a white skull and crossbones

Lad, lass, lassie: A child or young person

Landlubber: Someone without sailing ability

Loot: Stolen money or possessions

Marooned: To be abandoned with no food, drink or possessions

Me: My

Old Salt: Experienced pirate or sailor

Plunder: To steal

Run a Rig: Play a joke on someone

Scallywag: What an experienced pirate would call a newbie

Scurvy: A derogatory adjective meaning lowly or disgusting

Seadog: A veteran sailor

Shiver Me Timbers: An exclamation of surprise

Sink Me: An exclamation of surprise

Son of a Biscuit Eater: An insult

Thar She Blows: A whale sighting

Three Sheets to the Wind: Someone who is very drunk. One sheet is mildly drunk, and four sheets is passed out.

Walk the Plank: When someone is forcibly ordered to walk off a wooden board into the sea, resulting in drowning

Wench: A woman

Ye: You

Yo Ho Ho: A jolly expression

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Epic Pirate Music - Pirates & Buccaneers

The Life of a Pirate

May 27, 2019

Brandon Fiechter's Music

Epic pirate music about adventurous pirates,

buccaneers, and sailors who search the seven seas

for treasure.

SAILS | 1 Hour Best of Epic Pirate Adventure Music Mix

Music for Life of a Pirate

Feb 15, 2021

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William Henry Davies Biography

Poet

William Henry Davies (1871 - September 26, 1940), was a Welsh poet and writer. He spent most of his life as a tramp in the United States and United Kingdom, but became known as one of the most popular poets of his time.

He was born in Newport, Monmouthshire, where his father died when he was two years old. His mother then abandoned him and his siblings when she remarried, leaving them to be brought up by their grandparents.

He was a difficult and somewhat delinquent young man, and after failing to settle as an apprentice, took casual work and travelled. The Autobiography of a Super-Tramp (1908) is an account of his times in the USA 1893 - '99, during which he lived as a vagrant. He lost a leg while jumping a train in Canada, and wore a wooden leg.

He returned to England, living a rough life in London in particular. His first book of poetry, in 1905, was the beginning of success and a growing reputation; he drew extensively on his experiences with the seamier side for material. By the time of his prominent place in the Edward Marsh Georgian poetry series, he was an established figure. He is generally best known for two lines from his poem, Leisure:

What is this life if, full of care,

We have no time to stand and stare.

He married in 1923 Helen Payne, an ex-prostitute and his junior by three decades; his frank account of how this came about was only published in 1980. They lived quietly in Sussex and Gloucestershire.

The Child and the Mariner

by William Henry Davies

A dear old couple my grandparents were, 
And kind to all dumb things; they saw in Heaven 
The lamb that Jesus petted when a child; 
Their faith was never draped by Doubt: to them 
Death was a rainbow in Eternity, 
That promised everlasting brightness soon.
 
An old seafaring man was he; a rough 
Old man, but kind; and hairy, like the nut 
Full of sweet milk.
 All day on shore he watched 
The winds for sailors' wives, and told what ships 
Enjoyed fair weather, and what ships had storms; 
He watched the sky, and he could tell for sure 
What afternoons would follow stormy morns, 
If quiet nights would end wild afternoons.
 
He leapt away from scandal with a roar, 
And if a whisper still possessed his mind, 
He walked about and cursed it for a plague.
 
He took offence at Heaven when beggars passed, 
And sternly called them back to give them help.
 
In this old captain's house I lived, and things 
That house contained were in ships' cabins once: 
Sea-shells and charts and pebbles, model ships; 
Green weeds, dried fishes stuffed, and coral stalks; 
Old wooden trunks with handles of spliced rope, 
With copper saucers full of monies strange, 
That seemed the savings of dead men, not touched 
To keep them warm since their real owners died; 
Strings of red beads, methought were dipped in blood, 
And swinging lamps, as though the house might move; 
An ivory lighthouse built on ivory rocks, 
The bones of fishes and three bottled ships.
 
And many a thing was there which sailors make 
In idle hours, when on long voyages, 
Of marvellous patience, to no lovely end.
 
And on those charts I saw the small black dots 
That were called islands, and I knew they had 
Turtles and palms, and pirates' buried gold.
 
There came a stranger to my granddad's house, 
The old man's nephew, a seafarer too; 
A big, strong able man who could have walked 
Twm Barlum's hill all clad in iron mail 
So strong he could have made one man his club 
To knock down others -- Henry was his name, 
No other name was uttered by his kin.
 
And here he was, sooth illclad, but oh, 
Thought I, what secrets of the sea are his! 
This man knows coral islands in the sea, 
And dusky girls heartbroken for white men; 
More rich than Spain, when the Phoenicians shipped 
Silver for common ballast, and they saw 
Horses at silver mangers eating grain; 
This man has seen the wind blow up a mermaid's hair 
Which, like a golden serpent, reared and stretched 
To feel the air away beyond her head.
 
He begged my pennies, which I gave with joy -- 
He will most certainly return some time 
A self-made king of some new land, and rich.
 
Alas that he, the hero of my dreams, 
Should be his people's scorn; for they had rose 
To proud command of ships, whilst he had toiled 
Before the mast for years, and well content; 
Him they despised, and only Death could bring 
A likeness in his face to show like them.
 
For he drank all his pay, nor went to sea 
As long as ale was easy got on shore.
 
Now, in his last long voyage he had sailed 
From Plymouth Sound to where sweet odours fan 
The Cingalese at work, and then back home -- 
But came not near my kin till pay was spent.
 
He was not old, yet seemed so; for his face 
Looked like the drowned man's in the morgue, when it 
Has struck the wooden wharves and keels of ships.
 
And all his flesh was pricked with Indian ink, 
His body marked as rare and delicate 
As dead men struck by lightning under trees 
And pictured with fine twigs and curlèd ferns; 
Chains on his neck and anchors on his arms; 
Rings on his fingers, bracelets on his wrist; 
And on his breast the Jane of Appledore 
Was schooner rigged, and in full sail at sea.
 
He could not whisper with his strong hoarse voice, 
No more than could a horse creep quietly; 
He laughed to scorn the men that muffled close 
For fear of wind, till all their neck was hid, 
Like Indian corn wrapped up in long green leaves; 
He knew no flowers but seaweeds brown and green, 
He knew no birds but those that followed ships.
 
Full well he knew the water-world; he heard 
A grander music there than we on land, 
When organ shakes a church; swore he would make 
The sea his home, though it was always roused 
By such wild storms as never leave Cape Horn; 
Happy to hear the tempest grunt and squeal 
Like pigs heard dying in a slaughterhouse.
 
A true-born mariner, and this his hope -- 
His coffin would be what his cradle was, 
A boat to drown in and be sunk at sea; 
Salted and iced in Neptune's larder deep.
 
This man despised small coasters, fishing-smacks; 
He scorned those sailors who at night and morn 
Can see the coast, when in their little boats 
They go a six days' voyage and are back 
Home with their wives for every Sabbath day.
 
Much did he talk of tankards of old beer, 
And bottled stuff he drank in other lands, 
Which was a liquid fire like Hell to gulp, 
But Paradise to sip.
 

And so he talked; 
Nor did those people listen with more awe 
To Lazurus -- whom they had seen stone dead -- 
Than did we urchins to that seaman's voice.
 
He many a tale of wonder told: of where, 
At Argostoli, Cephalonia's sea 
Ran over the earth's lip in heavy floods; 
And then again of how the strange Chinese 
Conversed much as our homely Blackbirds sing.
 
He told us how he sailed in one old ship 
Near that volcano Martinique, whose power 
Shook like dry leaves the whole Caribbean seas; 
And made the sun set in a sea of fire 
Which only half was his; and dust was thick 
On deck, and stones were pelted at the mast.
 
Into my greedy ears such words that sleep 
Stood at my pillow half the night perplexed.
 
He told how isles sprang up and sank again, 
Between short voyages, to his amaze; 
How they did come and go, and cheated charts; 
Told how a crew was cursed when one man killed 
A bird that perched upon a moving barque; 
And how the sea's sharp needles, firm and strong, 
Ripped open the bellies of big, iron ships; 
Of mighty icebergs in the Northern seas, 
That haunt the far hirizon like white ghosts.
 
He told of waves that lift a ship so high 
That birds could pass from starboard unto port 
Under her dripping keel.
 

Oh, it was sweet 
To hear that seaman tell such wondrous tales: 
How deep the sea in parts, that drownèd men 
Must go a long way to their graves and sink 
Day after day, and wander with the tides.
 
He spake of his own deeds; of how he sailed 
One summer's night along the Bosphorus, 
And he -- who knew no music like the wash 
Of waves against a ship, or wind in shrouds -- 
Heard then the music on that woody shore 
Of nightingales,and feared to leave the deck, 
He thought 'twas sailing into Paradise.
 
To hear these stories all we urchins placed 
Our pennies in that seaman's ready hand; 
Until one morn he signed on for a long cruise, 
And sailed away -- we never saw him more.
 
Could such a man sink in the sea unknown? 
Nay, he had found a land with something rich, 
That kept his eyes turned inland for his life.
 
'A damn bad sailor and a landshark too, 
No good in port or out' -- my granddad said.

* * * * * * *

"The Seaman's Flaunt to the proud Pirate"

Poem animation

Jul 16, 2012

Here's a virtual movie of a reading of an old English seafaring Poem that is often sung as a sort of sea shanty "The Salcombe Seaman's Flaunt to the proud Pirate" There isn't a known author or date of origin for this memorable piece of sea poetry. I have employed the visual services of an old Sea Dog to be our reader me hearties.

Salcombe is a town in the South Hams district of Devon, south west England has a long nautical history. The town is close to the mouth of the Kingsbridge Estuary, built mostly on the steep west side of the estuary and lies within the South Devon Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB). The town's extensive waterfront and the naturally sheltered harbour formed by the estuary gave rise to its success as a boat- and shipbuilding and sailing port and, in modern times, tourism especially in the form of pleasure sailing and yachting. There is also a crabbing industry.

History and Background to Salcombe

Until about 100 years ago Salcombe earned its living from the estuary and the sea. Fishing, seafaring, boat and later shipbuilding with smuggling and probably some piracy were the principal occupations. The oldest local settlements were not built at the water's edge but at some distance inland. The reason was that danger came from the sea. Long after the invasions which some of us learned about at school - Roman, Anglo-Saxon, Viking and Norman, it still remained a source of danger. Some of these dangers are mentioned in the following paragraphs. Others include pirates seeking temporary shelter and supplies and, in the case of those from the Barbary States of North Africa, slaves. Hundreds of Devon people were kidnapped in the 1600s and taken to the slave markets of Algiers and Sallee on the Atlantic coast of Morocco. Some were eventually ransomed but others never returned home.

Kind Regards,

Jim Clark

All rights are reserved on this video recording copyright Jim Clark 2012

An ink drawing of A Broadside

The Salcombe Seaman's Flaunt

to the Proud Pirate

by Anonymous

A LOFTY ship from Salcombe came,
Blow high, blow low, and so sailed we;
She had golden trucks that shone like flame,
On the bonny coasts of Barbary.

"Masthead, masthead, "the captains hail,
Blow high, blow low, and so sailed we;
"Look out and round; d' ye see a sail?"
On the bonny coasts of Barbary.

"There's a ship what looms like Beachy Head,"
Blow high, blow low, and so sailed we;
"Her banner aloft it blows out red,"
On the bonny coasts of Barbary.

"Oh, ship ahoy, and where do you steer?"
Blow high, blow low, and so sailed we;
"Are you man-of-war, or privateer?"
On the bonny coasts of Barbary.

"I am neither one of the two," said she,

Blow high, blow low, and so sailed we;

"I'm a pirate, looking for my fee,"
On the bonny coasts of Barbary.

"I'm a jolly pirate, out for gold:"
Blow high, blow low, and so sailed we;
"I will rummage through your after hold,"
On the bonny coasts of Barbary.

The grumbling guns they flashed and roared,
Blow high, blow low, and so sailed we;
Till the pirate's mast went overboard,
On the bonny coasts of Barbary.

They fired shot till the pirate's deck,
Blow high, blow low, and so sailed we;
Was blood and spars and broken wreck,
On the bonny coasts of Barbary.

"O do not haul the red flag down,"
Blow high, blow low, and so sailed we;
"O keep all fast until we drown,"
On the bonny coasts of Barbary.

They called for cans of wine, and drank,
Blow high, blow low, and so sailed we;
They sang their songs until she sank,
On the bonny coasts of Barbary.

Now let us brew good cans of flip,
Blow high, blow low, and so sailed we;
And drink a bowl to the Salcombe ship,
On the bonny coasts of Barbary.

And drink a bowl to the lad of fame,
Blow high, blow low, and so sailed we;
Who put the pirate ship to shame,
On the bonny coasts of Barbary.

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The 10 Manliest Sea Shanties

article link

by Brett & Kate McKay

September 23, 2008 • Last updated: June 4, 2021

I soon got used to this singing, for the sailors never touched a rope without it . . . Some sea captains, before shipping a man, always ask him whether he can sing out at a rope.

–Herman Melville, Redburn

It’s the 19th century. You’re a young man seeking adventure and a test of your manhood. You decide to sign up on a ship to see exotic foreign lands. You take the trip to the coast. You find a big coastal town and you walk through the docks admiring the ships. Finally, you spot one that you like. You walk on deck and a tall man dressed in black coat confronts you. It’s the captain.

“What do you want lad?”

“I want to sign on board sir,” you say.

He looks you up and down, and says “Aye. But first I need to give you a test.”

You’re not worried. You were expecting this and, in fact, hoping for it. You want to show the captain what you can do. After all, you were always the strongest out of all your friends. You could climb up any rock or tree since you learned how to walk. And you also knew a bit about navigation from your grandfather. You were eager to show what a great addition to the crew you’d make.

“How well can you sing?” the captain asks.

Of  Wooden Ships and Iron Men

Sea Shanties were work songs sung on ships during the age of sail. They were used to keep rhythm during work and make it more pleasant. Because these songs were used to accomplish a goal, rather then for pure entertainment, the lyrics and melody were not very sophisticated. Still, the songs were usually meaningful and told of a sailor’s life, which included backbreaking labor, abuse from captain and crew, alcohol, and longing for girls and dry land.

A typical shanty had a call-and-response format. One sailor(a shantyman) would call out a verse, to which the rest of the sailors would respond in unison. The work would occur usually on the last syllable of the response or some other cue. An example can be found in the movie Moby Dick:

Shantyman: Our boots and clothes are all in pawn

Sailors: Go(pull) down ye blood red roses, go(pull) down.

Shanties were divided into several categories, named after the work they were used for. There were long haul shanties and short haul shanties for long and short rope pulling. There were windlass shanties for pumping out water(all wooden ships leaked to some extent and water would have to be pumped out regularly), and capstan shanties for raising and lowering the anchor.

There was also a fifth kind of sailor song, which wasn’t really considered a true shanty because it was not used for work. Foc’sle, forecastle or forebitters were songs sung after the work was over. They were named after the sailor’s living quarters, where they would gather around to drink and sing wild ballads. 

For the purpose of the article I’m including a few of them as shanties.

The categories weren’t set in stone and sailors would often borrow songs and change the melody and rhythm to suit their work. It seems the only rules regarding sea shanties were that the songs talking about life at sea were sung on the outward part of the journey, and songs talking about coming home and dry land were sung while the ship was homeward bound.

Today, not many people know about the existence of sea shanties. They are usually sung at sea festivals and pirate shows. You can sometimes hear them in movies about the sea, such as Master and Commander and Moby Dick. But the true tradition of shanties ended with the age of sail.

The 10 Manliest Sea Shanties

1. Blow the Man Down

Read the lyrics

A very popular halyard shanty among modern shantymen. The Spongebob Squarepants theme is a variation of this tune. The version sung on ships usually told about a policeman accusing a sailor of being a black baller and the insulted sailor knocking the policeman down and ending up in jail. The modern version usually tells a story about a sailor meeting a pretty young damsel. The title and chorus refer to the abuse sailors endured on the ships of the Black Ball line.

2. Roll the Old Chariot

Read the lyrics

A capstan shanty of African-American origin. The song told about the indulgences sailors dreamed of partaking once they came on shore. It was very easy to add lyrics to it, and so individual sailors would list things they loved most that “wouldn’t do them any harm.”The line, “A drop of Nelson’s blood wouldn’t do us any harm,” refers to Horatio Nelson whose body was put in a casket of brandy following his death at the battle of Trafalgar.

3. The Coasts of High Barbary

Read the lyrics

This one was a forecastle song. Originally an English song, it was later rewritten by American sailors to tell about a victorious battle with pirates disguised as another ship. The pirates pleaded for mercy but the sailors gave them no quarter.

4. Spanish Ladies

Read the lyrics

This is the song that you can hear in Master and Commander and Jaws. It was a capstan shanty sung on homeward bound journeys. The lines “we’ll rant and we’ll roar like true British sailors, we’ll rant and we’ll roar along the salt seas,” might as well have been a battle cry. The verse “we’ll drink and be jolly and drown melancholy,” perfectly describes the sailor’s recipe for a bad mood.

5. The Bonny Ship The Diamond

Read the lyrics

This was a forecastle song telling a true story about whaling ship The Diamond which was lost at sea in 1819. Whaling in the age of sail was perhaps the most dangerous job a man could do. Sailors were required to kill the biggest creature on earth from a rowboat. The frost and winds and hard work alone were enough to make sure that only the toughest men signed up for the job.

6. Rolling Down to Old Maui

Another whaling forecastle song. This one featured a sweet melody which reflected the melancholy of tired sailors. It told about coming home from a whaling trip and describes leaving behind the hardships of hunting for whales.

7. Blood Red Roses

Read the lyrics

A halyard shanty about going around Cape Horn to whale. Rounding Cape Horn was one of the toughest tasks in the age of sail because of the strong and unfavorable winds in the area.

There is some speculation as to what “blood red roses” is referring to. Some people say it’s a name for the Royal British marines who wore a red uniform. Others say it’s referring to whale’s blood on the surface of the water.

8. Fiddler’s Green - Irish Song

Read the lyrics

A forecastle ballad. Fiddler’s Green is sailors’ and fishermen’s version of heaven. A place where there is no work, where you have a mug of beer that refills itself, and there are pretty ladies dancing to a sound of fiddle that never ends. The idea of Fiddler’s Green was taken from an old Irish legend and adapted by sailors because at sea the dying did not have the chance to get properly anointed and therefore did not have the chance to enter Christian heaven.

9. Lowlands

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A very sad capstan shanty (although it was probably sung more often in the forecastle). As with all shanties, there are many versions, but the basic story is that the sailor dreams about his love and in that instant he knows that she has died. There are versions where it’s the sailor’s girl that dreams about the sailor. Some versions are more elaborate and include sailors seeing red roses on his girl’s body as a symbol of blood, wet hair as a sign of drowning, and so on. In some versions after the death of a sailor the girl cuts her hair so that no other man will find her attractive.

10. Haul Away Joe

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A short haul shanty. Another popular shanty among modern shantymen. It contains, in my opinion, the best two lines of any shanty or sea song: “When I was a little boy my mother always told me…That if I did not kiss the girls, my lips would grow all moldy.” The rest of the song usually tells about the sailor’s adventures with women of different nationalities until he finds one that’s “just a daisy.”

Sea Shanties in the Movies

Master and Commander Shanties

Don't Forget Your Old Shipmate

Jaws

Tiburón - Farewell and adieu (V.O.)