Hoist the Colours (song)
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| This article is about the pirate song Hoist the Colours. You may be looking for the soundtrack cue "Hoist the Colours". |
- "Dangerous song to be singing, for any who are intimate with its meaning."
- ―Tai Huang to Elizabeth Swann[src]
Hoist the Colours 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 |
[edit] History
- "The King and his men stole the Queen from her bed / And bound her in her bones."
- ―opening lines[src]
Hoist the Colours 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.
[edit] Text
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 colours high.
Heave ho, thieves and beggars,
never shall we die.
Yo, ho, all together.
Hoist the colours 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...
Hear its sepulchral tone.
A call to all,
pay heed the squall
and turn your sail to home!
Yo, ho, all together.
Hoist the colours high.
Heave ho, thieves and beggars,
never shall we die.
[edit] Behind the scenes
- The lyrics were written by Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio. Every verse relates to the story of Calypso and Davy Jones.[2]
- The song was inspired by a legend that stated Blackbeard used "Sing a Song of Sixpence" as a recruiting song.[2]
