This article is about the pirate song Hoist the Colors. You may be looking for the soundtrack cue or the term.

"A dangerous song to be singing...for any who are ignorant of its meaning."

―Tai Huang to Elizabeth Swann^[src]

Hoist the Colors was a sea shanty known by pirates across the Seven Seas. It related to the hoisting of a pirate's flag, though it was also used as a call to arms for the members of the Brethren Court.

Contents 1 History 1.1 Lyrics 2 Other lyrics 3 Behind the scenes 4 Appearances 5 Notes and references

HistoryEdit

"The king and his men stole the queen from her bed / And bound her in her bones."

―opening lines^[src]

Hoist the Colors told the tale of the binding of Calypso by the Pirate King and the Brethren Court. It was sent forth by Hector Barbossa,^[1] who intended to unite the Pirate Lords and release Calypso. The song was sung by assembled men and women sentenced for execution by the East India Trading Company at Fort Charles in Port Royal, after a boy, facing the gallows, began singing while holding a piece of eight. The entire assembly took up the cue. The song was connected to the nine pieces of eight. Once the crowd had sung, the nine coins begin resonating. Captain Sao Feng heard the resonance in a coin given to him by Hector Barbossa in Singapore, and the entire Brethren Court united at Shipwreck Cove because of it.

LyricsEdit

• Lyrics by Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio
• Music by Hans Zimmer

The king and his men stole the queen from her bed

And bound her in her bones

The seas be ours and by the powers

Where we will, we'll roam!

Yo, ho, all hands

Hoist the colors high

Heave, ho, thieves and beggars

Never shall we die

Yo, ho, haul together

Hoist the colors high

Heave, ho, thieves and beggars

Never shall we die

Some have died and some are alive

Others sail on the sea

With the keys to the cage and the Devil to pay

We lay to Fiddler's Green!

The bell has been raised from its watery grave

Do you hear its sepulchral tone?

A call to all, pay heed to the squall

And turn your sail to home!

Yo, ho, haul together

Hoist the colors high

Heave ho, thieves and beggars

Never shall we die

Other lyricsEdit

This small piece was used in the original lyrics:

Yo ho, haul together, raise the colors high

Heave ho, thieves and beggers, never say we die

Behind the scenesEdit

• The lyrics were written by Pirates writers Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio, with the assistance of director Gore Verbinski. Every verse relates to the story of Calypso and Davy Jones, as well as what occurred at the First Brethren Court.^[2]
• There is some controversy over the name of the term, in which "colours" and "colors" were used. In the At World's End soundtrack, "colours" is used, while the song and the term itself has "colors".
• The song was inspired by the "myth" that Blackbeard used "Sing a Song of Sixpence" as a recruiting song. The myth itself was a hoax by Snopes.com's "The Repository of Lost Legends", but the writers of the POTC films found it to be interesting enough to create a song for At World's End.^[2]

AppearancesEdit

• Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End

Notes and referencesEdit

1. ↑ Pirates of the Caribbean: The Complete Visual Guide p88-89 "Shipwreck Island"
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1} Box Office Mojo: Interview: Ted Elliott & Terry Rossio on 'At World's End'