Yo Ho (A Pirate's Life for Me)

"I love this song! Really bad eggs! When I get the Pearl back, I'm gonna teach it to the whole crew, and we'll sing it all the time!"

―Jack Sparrow to Elizabeth Swann

Yo Ho (A Pirate's Life for Me) Originally performed by Composer X Atencio Lyrics George Bruns Performer(s) Length Films Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides Shows Attractions Pirates of the Caribbean Video games Albums The Music of Disney: A Legacy in Song Disney's 75 Years of Music & Memories Classic Disney - Volume V Disney Theme Park Classics Preceded by Followed by Video

[Source]

"Yo Ho (A Pirate's Life for Me)" is the theme song featured in the popular Disneyland and Walt Disney World attraction Pirates of the Caribbean. The song was also featured in the film Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl which was inspired by the ride itself. The song was also featured in the animated series Disney's House of Mouse with different lyrics and called Yo Ho, Yo Ho, A Parrot's Life for Me!, and was sung by Iago and two other parrots.

Relation to the films

"What was that, Elizabeth?"
"It's Miss Swann. Nothing. Just a song I learned as a child when I thought it would be exciting to meet a pirate."

―Jack Sparrow to Elizabeth Swann

The sea shanty was sung, as the opening lines, by a young Elizabeth Swann at the very beginning of Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, who then later taught it to Jack Sparrow when they were marooned together. He remarked that he would later teach it to his crew who would sing it "all the time", a reference to the never-ending actions of the Audio Animatronics of the attraction. Sparrow finally hums a part of the song as part of his final lines in The Curse of the Black Pearl, as well as muttering the song to himself at the end of At World's End. In the At World's End post-credits scene, Young Will Turner sings a refrain before the green flash signaled his father's return. In On Stranger Tides, Jack tells Joshamee Gibbs "it's a pirate's life for me" as the film's final line.

The song also appears in Chapter One of Jack Sparrow: The Coming Storm, sung by the patrons of the Faithful Bride. In Revenge of the Pirates!, the first three lines of final stanza was sung by the crew of the Black Pearl. The musical track "Drink Up Me Hearties" takes its title from the song.

The song has been used as part of the theatrical trailers for all three films. It also appears on Disney's Greatest Hits Volume 3‎ and A Musical History of Disneyland.

Lyrics

Yo ho, yo ho, a pirate's life for me.
We pillage plunder, we rifle and loot.
Drink up me 'earties, yo ho.
We kidnap and ravage and don't give a hoot.
Drink up me 'earties, yo ho.

Yo ho, yo ho, a pirate's life for me.
We extort and pilfer, we filch and sack.
Drink up me 'earties, yo ho.
Maraud and embezzle and even highjack.
Drink up me 'earties, yo ho.

Yo ho, yo ho, a pirate's life for me.
We kindle and char and in flame and ignite.
Drink up me 'earties, yo ho.
We burn up the city, we're really a fright.
Drink up me 'earties, yo ho.

We're rascals and scoundrels, we're villains and knaves.
Drink up me 'earties, yo ho.
We're devils and black sheep, we're really bad eggs.
Drink up me 'earties, yo ho.

We're beggars and blighters and ne'er do-well cads,
Drink up me 'earties, yo ho.
Aye, but we're loved by our mommies and dads,
Drink up me 'earties, yo ho.
Yo ho, yo ho, a pirate's life for me.

Versions

• 1967 - Song composed for the Pirates of the Caribbean attraction by Bruns and Atencio. (Lyrics as composed by Atencio and Bruns)
• 1982 - Orange County punk band The Vandals use the song's melody briefly in their song "Pirate's Life", which is about riding the attraction under the influence of LSD
• 1986 - Singer/songwriter Jimmy Buffett uses the melody as the opening to his single "Take it Back" which was written for the US America's Cup yachting team.
• 1994 - An instrumental version appears on guitarist Buckethead's album Giant Robot.
• 1995 - A version with alternate lyrics was featured in the Beach Party At Walt Disney World video of the Mickey's Fun Songs series.
• 2002 - The song is featured briefly in the Disney film Treasure Planet. The robot B.E.N. (Martin Short) sings a few bars while aboard the RLS Legacy.
• 2003 - The song is featured in the Disney film Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl. A few bars are sung by young Elizabeth Swann (Lucinda Dryzek). An older Elizabeth (Keira Knightley) later teaches it to Captain Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp) while they are marooned on an island. It is sung once again at the end of the film by Captain Jack Sparrow.
• 2006 - A version is sung by the Jonas Brothers in DisneyMania 4; the refrain "Drink up me hearties" is replaced with "Stand up me hearties".
• 2007 - A few bars of the song are sung again near the end of Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End. A few bars are also sung after the credits by the son of Elizabeth. The instrumentals and dialogue from the attraction are heard as well in the fade to black after the descent off World's End.
• [Present] - NFL's Tampa Bay Buccaneers have a pirate ship in the north endzone of Raymond James Stadium. During football games they will play the song over the loudspeakers and jumbotron, (courtesy of Disney), at which time patrons on the ship throw beads and other prizes into the crowd.
• 2010 - Disney's World of Color show briefly plays the song prior to the main Pirates of the Caribbean segment.
• 2011 - Brian Wilson covered it in a medley on his album In the Key of Disney, which was released onOctober 25, 2011.

This page uses content from the English Wikipedia. The original article was at Yo Ho (A Pirate's Life for Me). The list of authors can be seen in the page history. As with DisneyWiki and Disney Fan Fiction, the text of Wikipedia is available under the GNU Free Documentation License.