Yar matey! If you look out into the downtown area of the bay this month, you will notice a little bit of 16th century flair has been added to Ocean City’s skyline. A replica of the 500-year-old Spanish El Galeon Andalucia that was used to explore the world is docked at 3rd  Street on the bay for public tours. I don’t know about you, but when seeing a giant and beautiful historic ship like this, I automatically think about what life would be like sailing on one of these ships as a pirate looking for a life of adventure, money and glory. While I think of an awesome pirate name I’d like people to call me by, I’d like to share with you my six favorite pirate-themed songs!

 

“Jolly Roger”
By: Roger McGuinn
Off the album: Cardiff Rose (1976)
    Roger McGuinn, frontman of The Byrds, and the band’s only consistent member, had a good solo career going after the band stopped writing music in the early ‘70s. This album has an interesting mix of folk and sea shanty songs, along with some modern rock songs. “Jolly Roger” is a catchy pirate-themed tune that tells a story of what a person may experience while venturing out into the open sea, while frequently referencing the traditional skull and crossbones flag, known as the Jolly Roger.

“Professor Booty”
By: Beastie Boys
Off the album: Check Your Head (1992)
    First, I’d like to make a note to our readers with families: do not play this song for your kids (Hint: The kind of “booty” they’re talking about isn’t gold and jewels)! As I end up doing so in many of my articles, I’m cheating here as this song really doesn’t have much to do with the life of a pirate. We still get some pirate love in this song as the rap trio asks in the intro of the song, “Professor, what’s another name for pirate treasure?” Of course, the hip professor replies, “Well I think it’s booty…booty…booty.” The rest of the lyrics are pretty much the most random statements you can imagine, but that’s the Beastie Boys for you.

 

“A Pirate Looks at 40”
By: Jimmy Buffett
Off the album: A1A (1974)
    One of Jimmy Buffett’s signature songs and a guaranteed part of every live setlist, “A Pirate Looks at 40” is actually a tale about a modern day pirate (aka: drug smuggler) who has wasted away his riches and laments the past. Still, the lyrics make parallels to the life of a classic pirate and it creates imagery of the time period. Staying in theme with the sober tone of the song’s lyrics, the song has a slow tempo, but the overall feeling of the song is pretty relaxing.

 

“He’s a Pirate”
By: Klaus Badelt (but really Hans Zimmer)
Off the album: Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl Soundtrack (2003)
    While there are no lyrics, you can easily imagine your own pirate adventure while listening to one of my favorite movie themes! Although writing credit for the movie is given to Klaus Badelt, it was actually popular film composer Hans Zimmer who wrote the main theme uncredited (and served as producer of the soundtrack). Zimmer’s influence is clear, as the main theme is really the only recognizable and standout song from the film’s soundtrack. Even more so, Badelt was dropped entirely from subsequent films and Zimmer became the film series’ sole songwriter.

 

“Sailing for Adventure”
By: Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil
Off the album: Muppet Treasure Planet Soundtrack (1996)
    A wonderful thing happened in 1979. The legendary Jim Henson decided to pair his Muppets with big stars on the silver screen and we’ve been lucky enough to experience at least a couple of Muppets films each decade. This hilarious song features the Muppets (along with a couple of their human friends) singing in anticipation of leaving port for an adventure on the seas. Eerily enough, the music in this film was also scored by Hans Zimmer, but this specific song was written by duo Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil, who have created several songs together for films such as An American Tail and Harry and the Hendersons.

 

“Yo Ho (A Pirate’s Life for Me)”
By: George Bruns and Xavier Atencio
     Wow, we’re on a roll with these songs from movie soundtracks! Well, kind of.  While this is a Pirates of the Caribbean song, it’s actually the theme of the original Disneyland attraction that the movie was based on. As many have thought otherwise, this was not an actual traditional pirate’s sea shanty. It was co-written by composer George Burns (who was Disney’s music director for several years and scored both Sleeping Beauty and The Jungle Book) and Xavier Atencio (an Imagineer who has provided several services to Disney attractions) to be played at the attraction. Although Walt Disney himself oversaw construction of the first attraction in Disneyland, he passed three months before it opened to the public. If only he knew what has grown from a 15-minute theme park ride.