Avast ye! All hands hoay you Landlubbers! Today, September 19th, is International Talk Like a Pirate Day! So, although you can’t climb aboard the Jolly Roger and brandish your cutlass as in days of old, at least you can sound like a pirate one day out of the year. Here’s a link to some pirate terms and phrases that will get you talking like an old seadog in no time!
Along with having their own special “language,” pirates also loved to sing. Working on sea-faring vessels was hard work, so they often sang songs, or “sea shanties” to pass the time and make the job go faster. Here’s a pirate song that you and your family can sing on International Talk Like a Pirate Day or any day of the year!
If You Want To Be A Pirate (To the tune of: “If You’re Happy And You Know It)
If you want to be a pirate,
Swab the deck. (swish, swish)
If you want to be a pirate,
Swab the deck. (swish, swish)
If you want to be a pirate,
REALLY want to be a pirate,
If you want to be a pirate,
Swab the deck. (swish, swish)
Additional verses include: “walk the plank” (stomp, stomp); “shout ahoy!” (Ahoy! Ahoy!).
End with this verse: If you want to be a pirate “do all three” (swish, stomp, Ahoy!).
(Credit MOJIM Lyrics)
If you would like to learn more about pirates, DBRL offers a wide assortment of pirate books for children of all ages. Here are just a few.
- “Pirates” by Gail Terp
- “Cook’s Cook: The Cook Who Cooked For Captain Cook” by Gavin Bishop
- “Pirates” by Deborah Lock
- “An Adventurous History of Pirates” by Izzi Howell
- “The Best Book of Pirates” by Barnaby Harward
- “How I Became a Pirate” by Melinda Long
- “Pirates Past Noon” by Mary Pope Osborne
- “Pirate Jack Gets Dressed” by Nancy Raines Day
- “Blackbeard” by Sue L. Hamilton
- “No Pirates Allowed! Said Library Lou” by Rhonda Gowler Greene
