Origins | PBS

Did Pirates Really Sing Sea Shanties? It’s Complicated | Origins

WKNO

Published November 11, 2024 at 4:00 AM CST

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Songs like “A Pirate’s Life for Me” and “Dead Man’s Chest” are as prevalent in pirate lore as eye patches or treasure maps. But these tunes were written more than a hundred years AFTER the Golden Age of Piracy.

In this episode of Rogue History, we trace the roots of TikTok’s viral sea shanties and examine the types of music pirates likely heard on the open seas.