Pirates by Emerson, Lake & Palmer

Album: Works, Volume 1 (1977)

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Songfacts®:

This song was written by Keith Emerson and Greg Lake, with Pete Sinfield contributing the lyrics. Sinfield and Lake were bandmates in King Crimson, and when Emerson, Lake & Palmer formed, the pair continued writing together.

The fun little urban legend is that Lake and Sinfield wrote this song after riding the Pirates Of The Carribean ride at Disneyland. Sinfield, however, says they had simply watched a lot of Errol Flynn movies. In an interview with Record Collector, he explained: "The idea was pirates as an allegory for a rock band on tour. When I read up on the subject it soon became obvious that pirates weren't at all romantic, they were reprehensible people - like the Kray Twins at sea! Keith's music was very Gilbert & Sullivan, it was extraordinarily difficult to get the true nature of piracy into it, and I wrote most of it in Montreux, perhaps the lest piratical place on Earth. I had to write to music that was already fixed and I only had 20 minutes to unfold this epic narrative. It should have been at least twice as long."
Drummer Carl Palmer was very impressed with this lyric. "When you look at things like 'Pirates,' the lyrics are fantastic there, and the combination of those two guys working together, Sinfield and Lake, really worked," he said in his Songfacts interview. "When it hit off, it really hit big and fantastic."

Comments: 5

Bee Kay from North CarolinaThis song and this album were terrible, trash compared to their previous releases.
Josh from Uka pirate captain and his crew setting out on a journey in search of treasure and adventure. The captain calls out to those who hunger for a fortune and invites them to join his crew, promising to make them everything they've ever dreamed. The crew sets sail, eager to take on the world and to amass a wealth of riches.

As they sail along the Cuban coast, the crew spies a galleon of the treasure fleet and the captain orders his men to close in for the attack. Despite the galleon's pleas for mercy, the pirate crew is relentless, cutting down all who stand in their way and hauling the treasure aboard.

The captain is depicted as a mad-eyed, greedy man who is driven by his desire for wealth and power. He rises from his divan with a pistol in hand, shooting the lock from an iron box to retrieve a blood red ruby. He also gifts his crew with turquoise jewelry and a solid gold crucifix, making good on his promise to make them everything they've ever dreamed.

As the pirates anchor in a bay, they enjoy a night of revelry and drink a toast to the devil, to freedom, and to the deep blue sea. They are determined to live their lives as they please, and to amass as much wealth as possible. The pirate crew is described as wild-eyed and wicked, seeking to take what they want from the world without regard for anyone else.

The lyrics suggest that the pirate crew is aware of the dangers and risks involved in their line of work, but that they are driven by their desire for adventure and the thrill of the chase. Despite the sadness and tears of those they leave behind, they are bound for Eldorado, determined to take all the riches the world has to offer.
Anthony Selby from HampshireAs good as this form of music could possibly be. Greg Lake, such an underrated vocalist.
Eugene from London Fantastic song from brilliant artists
Brian from Desmoines, IaWhen I first heard this on a progressive FM station, I thought it was Aaron Copland and friends agreed with me. I really like this piece. It really weaves a story. The video is almost "why bother?". Pretty bad, but maybe could be done with clips from the "Pirates of the Caribean" movies. Great song!

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