Ahoy, mateys! Did ye know? Tomorrah is National Talk Like a Pirate Day! Huzzah! Hoist the main sail! Batten down the hatches! WHERE’S MY PARROT?! It’s fun to talk like a pirate…ye just need an extry big bucket of RRRRRRRRRRRs!

Here in Kindermusik land, we be doin’ a bit more than just talk like a pirate! We sing like pirates! How do we do that? Well…ye came to the right place!

Arrrrrrrrgh!

Happy Birthday in Pirate

Our first test…know someone with a birthday tomorrow? Why not sing the traditional Happy Birthday song in Pirate instead of boring old land lover language? Let’s give it a go. It’s pretty simple…

Happy Birthday to ye,
Happy Birthday to ye,
Happy Birthday dear Blue Beard!
Happy Birthday to ye!

Easy as an albatross pie! Let’s try another one…

Mary Had a Little Lamb? No…She Had a Ship…and a Parrot!

The pirate version of Mary Had a Little Lamb has Mary out on the high seas looking for treasure! Here be a link for some accompaniment music for ye!

Mary had a little ship,
Little ship, little ship!
Mary had a little ship
And sailed the seven seas!
And Everywhere that Mary went,
Mary went, Mary went!
Everywhere that Mary went
Her sails would catch the breeze!

She found some treasure on the beach,
On the beach, on the beach!
She found some treasure on the beach
And split it with her crew!
Her parrot asked her
“Where’s my gold? Where’s my gold?”
Her parrot asked her “Where’s my gold?
A bird deserves gold, too!”

Did ye ever hear tell of a parrot demanding gold? Well, this be a pirate parrot. Always best to do what a pirate parrot asks of ye!

Try makin’ up yer own verses!

Traditional Sea Shanties

What be a Sea Shanty, ye ask? Well, I’ll tell ye – but listen up, mateys! Capt’n Dr. Boyle doesn’t like repeatin’ his-self. I’m busy tryin’ to talk a parrot out of his gold.

A Sea Shanty is a work song – used to get a group of people to complete a task that requires cooperation – or in pirate speak, a song to make us move as one, like a school of fish swimmin’ in the sea….ARRRRRRRRRRGH!

Here’s a classic – Haul Away, Joe! There be some great songs about pirates, and Ward, the Pirate is probably one of the finest ye’ll hear. Take a listen to Ralph Vaughn Williams’ setting of the story of Capt’n Ward. Here be the words of the song! Ye can listen to a recordin’ below…

Come all you gallant seamen bold,
All you that march to drum,
Let’s go and look for Captain Ward,
Far on the sea he roams;
He is the biggest robber
That ever you did hear,
There’s not been such a robber found
For above this hundred year.

A ship was sailing from the east
And going to the west,
Loaded with silks and satins
And velvets of the best,
But meeting there with Captain Ward,
It proved a bad meeting;
He robbèd them of all their wealth
And bid them tell their king.

O then the king provided a ship of noble fame,
She’s call’d the “Royal Rainbow,”
If you would know her name;
She was as well provided for
As any ship could be,
Full thirteen hundred men on board
To bear her company.

‘Twas eight o’ clock in the morning
When they began to fight,
And so they did continue there
Till nine o’ clock at night.
“Fight on, fight on,” says Captain Ward,
“This sport well pleases me,
For if you fight this month or more,
Your master I will be.”

O then the gallant “Rainbow”
She fired, she fired in vain,
Till six and thirty of her men
All on the deck were slain.
“Go home, go home,” says Captain Ward,
“And tell your king from me,
If he reigns king on all the land,
Ward will reign king on sea!”

So there ye be! Enjoy the day and have fun singing like a pirate. If ye want to talk like a pirate, just be sure it’s not like our friend, Rupert. He get’s the words wrong all the time. Ye can learn about his tale in the book, Rupert the Wrong Word Pirate.

Sail on, me hearties! Sail on!