"In honest service there are thin commons, low wages, and hard labour. Yet as gentlemen of fortune we enjoy plenty and satisfaction, pleasure and ease, liberty and power... so what man with a sensible mind would choose the former life, when the only hasard we pirates run is a sour look from those without strength or splendour! Now, I have been among you six weeks, and in that time I have adopted your outlook as my own, and with so fierce a conviction that it may frighten you to see your passions reflected from me in so stark a light. But... if it's a captain you see in me now, aye then... I'll be your bloody captain! For I have dipped my hands in muddied waters, and withdrawing them find 'tis better to be a commander than a common man!"
— Bartholomew Roberts, Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag, a rephrasing of a real-life speech noted in A General History of the Robberies and Murders by the Most Notorious Pyrates
Fly our flag, we teach them fear
Capture them, the end is near
Firing guns they shall burn
Surrender or fight there's no return
Under Jolly Roger!
Capture them, the end is near
Firing guns they shall burn
Surrender or fight there's no return
Under Jolly Roger!
— Running Wild, "Under Jolly Roger"
Oh, some are fond of red wine and some are fond of white,
And some are all for dancing by the pale moonlight,
But rum alone's the tipple and the heart's delight
Of the old, bold mate of Henry Morgan.
Oh, some are fond of Spanish wine and some are fond of French,
And some'll swallow tay and stuff fit only for a wench,
But I'm for right Jamaica till I roll beneath the bench,
Says the old, bold mate of Henry Morgan.
Oh, some are for the lily and some are for the rose,
But I am for the sugar cane that in Jamaica grows,
For it's that that makes the bonny drink to warm my copper nose,
Says the old, bold mate of Henry Morgan.
Oh, some are fond of fiddles and a song well sung
And some are all for music for to lit upon the tongue,
But mouths were made for tankards and for sucking at the bung,
Says the old, bold mate of Henry Morgan.
Oh, some that's good and godly ones they hold that it's a sin
To troll the jolly bowl around and let the dollars spin,
But I'm for toleration and for drinking at an inn,
Says the old, bold mate of Henry Morgan.
And some are all for dancing by the pale moonlight,
But rum alone's the tipple and the heart's delight
Of the old, bold mate of Henry Morgan.
Oh, some are fond of Spanish wine and some are fond of French,
And some'll swallow tay and stuff fit only for a wench,
But I'm for right Jamaica till I roll beneath the bench,
Says the old, bold mate of Henry Morgan.
Oh, some are for the lily and some are for the rose,
But I am for the sugar cane that in Jamaica grows,
For it's that that makes the bonny drink to warm my copper nose,
Says the old, bold mate of Henry Morgan.
Oh, some are fond of fiddles and a song well sung
And some are all for music for to lit upon the tongue,
But mouths were made for tankards and for sucking at the bung,
Says the old, bold mate of Henry Morgan.
Oh, some that's good and godly ones they hold that it's a sin
To troll the jolly bowl around and let the dollars spin,
But I'm for toleration and for drinking at an inn,
Says the old, bold mate of Henry Morgan.
— John Masefield, "Captain Stratton's Fancy"
Terrorizing suckers on the seven seas
And if you've got beef - you'll get capped in the knees
We got sixteen men on a dead man's chest
And I shot those suckers and I'll shoot the rest
And if you've got beef - you'll get capped in the knees
We got sixteen men on a dead man's chest
And I shot those suckers and I'll shoot the rest
— The Beastie Boys, "Rhymin' and Stealin'"
He was the mildest-manner'd man that ever scuttled ship or cut a throat.
—- Lord Byron
With a hi hi ho and a hi hi hey
We're bound to be close to the sea
Our captain will stand on the bridge and sing
Pirates are all we can be
With a hi hi ho and a hi hi hey
We're hoisting the flag to be free
We will steal the show
Jolly Rogers, go
We are wolves of the sea.
We're bound to be close to the sea
Our captain will stand on the bridge and sing
Pirates are all we can be
With a hi hi ho and a hi hi hey
We're hoisting the flag to be free
We will steal the show
Jolly Rogers, go
We are wolves of the sea.
— Alestorm, "Wolves of the Sea"
They murder coldly and detachedly
Whatever comes across their path
They throttle gullets as relaxedly
As fling a rope up to the mast.
At wakes they fall upon the liquor
Then stagger overboard and drown
While the remainder give a snigger
And wave a toe as they go down.
Whatever comes across their path
They throttle gullets as relaxedly
As fling a rope up to the mast.
At wakes they fall upon the liquor
Then stagger overboard and drown
While the remainder give a snigger
And wave a toe as they go down.
— Bertolt Brecht, "Ballad of the Pirates"
Yar, har, fiddle-de-dee
Being a Pirate is all right to be
Do what you want 'cause a Pirate is free
You are a Pirate!
Being a Pirate is all right to be
Do what you want 'cause a Pirate is free
You are a Pirate!
— LazyTown, "You Are a Pirate
"
" And those buccaneers drown their sins in rum
The Devil himself would have to call 'em scum
Every man a board would've killed his mate
For a bag of guineas or a piece of eight
A piece of eight
A piece of eight
A five, six, seven, eight
The Devil himself would have to call 'em scum
Every man a board would've killed his mate
For a bag of guineas or a piece of eight
A piece of eight
A piece of eight
A five, six, seven, eight
— Muppet Treasure Island, "Shiver My Timbers"
Greed for pearls and diamonds
They are hellbent for gold
Their notorious symbol
Makes every decent sailor's blood run cold
Like the mighty eagle
Diving down on the lamb
Pirates don't give mercy
When they fight and get the upper hand
They are hellbent for gold
Their notorious symbol
Makes every decent sailor's blood run cold
Like the mighty eagle
Diving down on the lamb
Pirates don't give mercy
When they fight and get the upper hand
— Stormwitch, "Skull and Crossbones''
"We fly no Colours out here, but praise the Lack of 'em. So let the Black Flag signal nothing but your Alliegiance to Man's natural freedoms."
— Edward "Blackbeard" Thatch, Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag
Yo ho, all together
Hoist the colours high
Heave ho, thieves and beggars
Never shall we die
Hoist the colours high
Heave ho, thieves and beggars
Never shall we die
— Pirates of the Caribbean, "Hoist the Colours"
"It is my intention to commandeer one of these ships, pick up a crew in Tortuga, raid, pillage, plunder and otherwise pilfer my weasely black guts out."
—Jack Sparrow, Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl
