(Quarter Deck)
(Quarter Master)
(Focastle)
(Membership Information)
LYRICS FOR "A PIRATE'S LIFE FOR ME"
The nursery rhyme 'Sing a Song of Sixpence' originated as a coded message used to recruit crew members for pirate ships.
Status: True.
Origins: Many of us fondly recall the rhyming ditties we
learned as children, such as "Jack Be
Nimble" and "The Farmer in the Dell." But how many of us realize that
several of our most fondly-recalled
nursery rhymes (e.g., "A Tisket, A Tasket" and "Little Jack Horner")
were not mere nonsense songs, but
actually originated as coded references to such dark events as plagues
and religious persecution? Such was
the case with another childhood favorite, "Sing a Song of Sixpence."
For those unfamiliar with this ditty, let's start by offering its lyrics:
Sing a song of sixpence A pocket full of rye
Four and twenty blackbirds Baked in a pie
When the pie was opened The birds began to sing
Was that not a tasty dish To set before a king?
The King was in his counting house Counting out his money
The Queen was in the parlor Eating bread and honey
The Maid was in the garden Hanging out the clothes
When down came a blackbird
And snapped off her nose!
The surprising truth is that this innocent little rhyme, which dates
from the early 1700s, actually
represents a coded message used to recruit crew members for pirate
vessels!
Pirates (or corsairs, privateers whose activities were sanctioned by
letters of marque from a sovereign)did
not spend all their time at sea: they cruised the waters in areas such
as the Mediterranean, the Spanish Main, or the Atlantic coast of North America, looking for prizes, and they returned to port when the need for
supplies or repairs demanded it. Upon reaching port, the ship's captain
paid off the crew (primarily by
dividing the spoils of whatever they had captured), and the crew members
then dispersed ashore (usually to
spend all their pay on alcohol and prostitutes as quickly as possible).
Some crewmen tended to stay in
the vicinity, but others left for other regions, caught on with other
ships, died, were killed, or
simply disappeared. Thus, much like the captains of naval vessels and
merchant traders, the captains of
pirate ships needed to recruit new crew members whenever they embarked
on yet another Adventure. Since
piracy (as opposed to privateering) was against the law, pirates devised
codes that could be used to
advertise for crew members without openly revealing their illegal
affiliations.
The nursery rhyme "Six a Song of Sixpence" was a coded message that
evolved over several years' times and was
used by confederates of the notorious pirate Blackbeard to recruit crew members for his
prize-hunting expeditions. Like many other messages passed down to us
over hundreds of years by oral
tradition, there is no one "official" version, nor is there a "correct" interpretation for any particular
variant. In general, however, the most common form of this rhyme bore
these veiled meanings:
Sing a song of sixpence / A pocket full of rye
Blackbeard's standard payment of sixpence a day was considered good money in the 1700s, especially since most pirate vessels did not pay salary: the crew only received a share of the spoils if they were successful in capturing prizes (and many a pirate ship had to return to port empty-handed after spending several fruitless months at sea). As well, his crew was promised a pocket (a leather bag somewhat like an early canteen which held about a liter) full of rye (whiskey) per day. Not bad, considering that alcohol was the average sailor's raison d'etre.
Four and twenty blackbirds / Baked in a pie
As Henry Betts points out in his book on the origins and history of nursery rhymes, "It was a favourite trick in the sixteenth century to conceal all sorts of surprises in a pie." Buccaneers, too, were fond of surprises, and one of Blackbeard's favorite ruses to lure a ship within boarding range was to make his own vessel (or crew) appear to be in distress, typically by pretending to have been dismasted in a storm or to have sprung a leak below the waterline. Passing ships — both honest sailors wanting to help and other pirates looking for an easy catch — would sail in close to offer assistance, whereupon a crew of two dozen heavily-armed seamen dressed in black would board the other vessel (via a boat in darkness or fog, or by simply jumping into the other ship when it came alongside if no other means of surprise attack was possible) to quickly kill or disable as many crew members as possible. Thus the four and twenty "blackbirds" (i.e., Blackbeard's crewmen) "baked in a pie" (i.e., concealed in anticipation of springing a trap).
When the pie was opened / The birds began to sing
This follows from the previous line. Once the victim's ship was lured in
for the kill, the "blackbirds" came
out of hiding and attacked with a fearsome din.
Was that not a tasty dish / To set before a king?
This line is commonly misinterpreted. The King is not a reference to any real king, but rather to Blackbeard himself, the king of pirates. And the tasty dish is the plundered ship that was so easily captured.
The King was in his counting house / Counting out his money
Again, the King is Blackbeard (no real king would take on such a mean task as counting money). This line of the message signals that Blackbeard had the cash on hand to pay a crew on salary rather than strictly on divided spoils.
The Queen was in the parlor / Eating bread and honey
Blackbeard's main vessel was a French merchant ship named "Le Concorde de Nantes" that was jointly captured by Blackbeard and Captain Hornigold in the Grenadines in November of 1717. Upon his retirement from pirating, Hornigold presented the ship to Blackbeard, who renamed it "The Queen Anne's Revenge". Thus the "Queen" referred to here is Blackbeard's ship, and "eating bread and honey" meant that it was in port taking on supplies in preparation for a cruise.
The Maid was in the garden / Hanging out the clothes
The use of the word "maid" indicated that the location/route of one or more prize ships was known, and they were going to be specific targets of the upcoming cruise (this greatly enhancing the probability of the crew's collecting prize money). The waters around the Carolinas down to the Caribbean were referred to as the garden, as this was an area where pirates would often cruise for easy pickings. "Hanging out the clothes" meant the targeted ship was already at sea or just about to leave port (thus its sails — or "clothes" — have been hung).
When down came a blackbird / And snapped off her nose!
There is some scholarly debate in literary and maritime circles as to whether the last part was originally "and snapped off her nose" or "and snapped off a rose." Either way, the passage is taken to be a Blackbeard's bragging about his plans to swoop in and have his way with the targeted ship.
So, next time you hear this innocent children's song, remember that it was originally recited in taverns by drunken, bloodthirsty buccaneers as a code to recruit other pirates for their next murderous voyage!
This time, let's try and get it right!!