Pirate Music Influence?

[TheGameViking]

I am currently working on the worldbuilding process for a Pirate VS Merchant Pathfinder game and looking for pirate themed music that might fit the world. It is a low fantasy, high action world and my games tend to deal with mature themes more often than not, so I am looking for a serious musical score to accompany the storytelling. Yes I have heard "You are a Pirate", and while amazingly awesome, that is far to goofy compared to what I am looking for. My core score so far is built around a smattering of Abney Park and Alestorm, looking for more! Thanks!

Examples so far:

Abney Park
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=05rR7nozsYg
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=88ZJE...eature=related

Alestorm
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ta-Z_psXODw
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sBW7M...eature=related

[Sleepycrow]

I ran a seafaring Swords & Wizardry campaign in the summer. I made a whole playlist on youtube of pirate themed music.

Voila! Pirate Music!

[Templarkommando]

The classic form of sailing music is referred to as the shanty. It's essentially a work song that uses call and response or various rhythms to signal when it's appropriate to push or pull or various other things that need to be done on a ship. In this sense you'll find that it shares a lot of similarities with African-American Spirituals. Another aspect of a lot pirate music is that the dance is quite popular. The specific type of dance is the jig (or gigue). Related forms to the jig are the allemande, courante, and sarabande - these are other types of dances.

A final consideration is ethnic. There have been pirates since there has been waterbourne trade. So, depending on the culture a particular crew of pirates is from you may have hundreds of different types of music. Pirate crews are frequently made up of personnel from whatever ports a ship pulls into. A crew may have Spanish, Indian, African, Irish, German, English, and French crewmen all at the same time - each drawing upon different cultures. One of the first wars the United States fought in was known as the Barbary Wars which were fought against Barbary Pirates who hailed from the Middle East and Northern Africa, and you can bet their cultures had piratical elements for centuries before. It is conceivable that there are pirate songs from any of these cultures.

[TheGameViking]

@SleepyCrow Thank you! This is right up the ally of what I am looking for.

@TemplarKommando Wow, way more knowledge than I had hoped for. I am all about the mesh of cultures and the fascinating tidbits you provided, Thank you for that! This is the sort of stuff that will make this game all the more believable.

[GoblinArchmage]

Dropkick Murphys?

"I'm a sailor peg, and I lost my leg! Climbin' up the topsails, I LOST MY LEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEG!"

[Radar]

Turisas should blend in well.

[HeadlessMermaid]

Templarkommando knows what he's talking about.

I found this interesting video: Sea Shanties in Moby **** (1956 film). (Good job, forum censor. Good job). Anyway, it includes notes, and a link to a project with almost 200 sea shanties. You'll find something.

And these my suggestions. They are mostly "entry level" - recent renditions, that don't sound too weird. If you want a more authentic feel (more "hollering" vocals, without electric guitars and bass and drums and the like), check the mega-playlist above.

1) Shanties (working songs) :
Drunken Sailor - and a choral version
Haul on the Bowline
Haul Away Joe
South Australia
Heave Away My Johnny
Net Hauling Song

2) Sailors' Tales :
High Barbary
Go to sea no more
The Irish Rover
Captain Ward
Fathom the bowl
The Good Ship Calabar

3) Obligatory:
All for me Grog

4) Bawdy songs :
Baltimore Whores
Good Ship Venus

[FriendoftheDork]

The Chieftain's score from Treasure Island
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6x8SeGHrOps

The proper song begins about 1 minute in - but the movie itself is great inspiration for pirates :)

BTW hmm lone pirate coming a small sailboat.. have not seen a similar intro lately in movies?

[PetterTomBos]

This page is Norwegian, but the guys sings in English. Shanty-ish music :)

http://www.nrk.no/urort/Artist/Foghorn/default.aspx