Dead Man's Chest (song)

For other uses, see Dead Man's Chest (disambiguation)

Joshamee Gibbs singing the "Dead Man's Chest" song with a bottle of rum.

"Fifteen men on a dead man's chest, yo-ho-ho and a bottle of rum... Drink and the devil had done for the rest, yo-ho-ho and a bottle of rum!"

―Joshamee Gibbs

"Dead Man's Chest" (also known as "Fifteen Men on the Dead Man's Chest" or "Yo, Ho, Ho (And a Bottle of Rum)" was a song.

Relation to Pirates of the Caribbean

In Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest, the chorus of the "Dead Man's Chest" song was sung by Joshamee Gibbs aboard the Black Pearl, prior to Jack Sparrow's escape from the Turkish Prison. His voice pitched low, Gibbs continued singing while holding a bottle of rum. As if to illustrate the song, Gibbs takes a swig, tilting his head back as he drinks.

Lyrics

Fifteen men on a dead man's chest—

Yo-ho-ho and a bottle of rum!

Drink and the devil had done be the rest

Yo-ho-ho and a bottle of rum!

The mate was fixed by the bosun's pike,

The bosun brained with a marlinspike

And cookey's throat was marked belike

It had been gripped by fingers ten;

And there they lay, all good dead men

Like break o'day in a boozing ken—

Yo-ho-ho and a bottle of rum!

Fifteen men of the whole ship's list—

Yo-ho-ho and a bottle of rum!

Dead and be damned and the rest gone whist—

Yo-ho-ho and a bottle of rum!

The skipper lay with his nob in gore

Where the scullion's axe in his cheek had shore—

And the scullion he was stabbed times four.

And there they lay, and the soggy skies

Dripped all day long in up-staring eyes—

At murk sunset and at foul sunrise—

Yo-ho-ho and a bottle of rum!

Fifteen men of 'em stiff and stark—

Yo-ho-ho and a bottle of rum!

Ten of the crew had the murder mark

Yo-ho-ho and a bottle of rum!

There was cutlass swipe or an ounce of lead,

Or a yawing hole in a battered head—

And the scuppers' glut with a rotting red—

And there they lay—aye, damn my eyes!—

All lookouts clapped on paradise—

All souls bound just contrarywise—

Yo-ho-ho and a bottle of rum!

Fifteen men of 'em good and true—

Yo-ho-ho and a bottle of rum!

Ev'ry man jack could ha' sailed with Old Pew—

Yo-ho-ho and a bottle of rum!

There was chest on chest of Spanish gold,

With a ton of plate in the middle hold,

And the cabins riot of stuff untold.

And they lay there that took the plum,

With sightless glare and their lips struck dumb,

While we shared all by the rule of thumb—

Yo-ho-ho and a bottle of rum!

More was seen through a sternlight screen—

Yo-ho-ho and a bottle of rum!

Chartings undoubt where a woman had been!

Yo-ho-ho and a bottle of rum!

'Twas a flimsy shift on a bunker cot,

With a dirk slit sheer through the bosom spot

And the lace stiff dry in a purplish blot,

Oh was she wench or some shudderin' maid

That dared the knife and took the blade!

By God! she had stuff for a plucky jade—

Yo-ho-ho and a bottle of rum!

Fifteen men on a dead man's chest—

Yo-ho-ho and a bottle of rum!

Drink and the devil had done for the rest—

Yo-ho-ho and a bottle of rum!

We wrapped 'em all in a mains'l tight,

With twice ten turns of a hawser's bight,

And we heaved 'em over and out of sight—

With a Yo-Heave-Ho! and a fare-you-well!

And a sudden plunge in the sullen swell

Ten fathoms deep on the road to hell!

Yo-ho-ho and a bottle of rum!

Original lyrics

These were the original lyrics found in the novel Treasure Island:

Fifteen men on a dead man's chest—

Yo-ho-ho, and a bottle of rum!

Drink and the devil had done for the rest—

Yo-ho-ho, and a bottle of rum!

With one man of her crew alive,

What put to sea was seventy-five.

Behind the scenes

"I just came up with some dialogue that the pirates might have said and set it to music. Yo-ho-ho and a bottle of rum—that was a big part of the inspiration, that classic phrase."

―X Atencio

• According to the then-novice songwriter X Atencio, his approach to the song was simple. The classic phrase "Yo-ho-ho and a bottle of rum" was a big part of the inspiration for "Yo Ho (A Pirate's life for me)". Although X had confidence in his musical brainstorm, he never expected to be the one to actually write the number.

"The original concept was to open the film with Gibbs singing, 'Fifteen men on a dead man's chest...' and so match the opening of the first film, with the singing on the 'Pirates Life for Me' song. And then we'd have another song for the third film, so they would all match."

―Terry Rossio

• The original opening of Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest was to feature Joshamee Gibbs singing aboard the Black Pearl prior to Jack Sparrow's introduction of escaping the Turkish Prison. It would have created a parallel in which each of the three films of the Pirates of the Caribbean trilogy would have then opened with a song. "Yo Ho (A Pirate's Life for Me)" in the first film, The Curse of the Black Pearl; then "Dead Man's Chest" in the second film, Dead Man's Chest; and then "Hoist the Colours" in the third, At World's End. However, because of decision to change the opening of the film, the "Dead Man's Chest" song scene changed into the second scene of the film.
• Originally, the song is from Robert Louis Stevenson's Treasure Island. Only five lines from the songs were revealed, though were later expanded into a poem called Derelict by Young E. Allison. Derelict was arguably the most popular "completed" version of the song.
• The song was featured under the name "Yo Ho Ho! (And a Bottle of Rum)" in Disney’s Ultimate Swashbuckler 10-Song CD Collection, a promotional compilation of pirate music that came as a bundle with Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest. "Yo, Ho, Ho (And a Bottle of Rum)" was also featured in the Swashbuckling Sea Songs compilation.
• In Pirates of the Caribbean: The Complete Visual Guide, there is a section titled "Yo Ho Ho And A Bottle of Rum" which covers a bottle standing upright on a pitching ship as well as drinking being one of the most popular of pirate pleasures. Like all pirates, Jack believes that "rum gets you through times of no money better than money gets you through times of no rum."
• During the production of Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, the scene with Hector Barbossa and the Providence crew was being filmed in Halona Cove in Oahu, Hawaii on July 15, 2010. The "Dead Man's Chest" song, as heard in the 1954 film Long John Silver's Return to Treasure Island, was used in on-set footage uploaded by Greg Knudsen on YouTube.

Appearances

• Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest

Sources

• Pirates of the Caribbean: From the Magic Kingdom to the Movies
• Disney's Ultimate Swashbuckler 10-Song CD Collection
• Pirates of the Caribbean: The Complete Visual Guide

External links

• Dead Man's Chest on Wikipedia