"Barrett's Privateers" is a modern

folk Folk or Folks may refer to: Sociology *Nation *People * Folklore ** Folk art ** Folk dance ** Folk hero ** Folk horror ** Folk music *** Folk metal *** Folk punk *** Folk rock ** Folk religion * Folk taxonomy Arts, entertainment, and media * Fo ...

song in the style of a

sea shanty A sea shanty, shanty, chantey, or chanty () is a genre of traditional Folk music, folk song that was once commonly sung as a work song to accompany rhythmical labor aboard large Merchant vessel, merchant Sailing ship, sailing vessels. The term ...

, written and performed by Canadian musician

Stan Rogers Stanley Allison Rogers (November 29, 1949 – June 2, 1983) was a Canadian folk musician and songwriter who sang traditional-sounding songs frequently inspired by Canadian history and the working people's daily lives, especially from the fishin ...

, having been inspired after a song session with the

Friends of Fiddler's Green Friends of Fiddler's Green is a Canadian folk music group based in Toronto founded in 1971 and still active as of 2024. The members of the group at the time of its first recording, 1981's ''This Side of the Ocean'', were Alistair Brown, Tam Kearne ...

at the

Northern Lights Festival Boréal Northern Lights Festival Boréal is an annual summer music festival in Greater Sudbury, Sudbury, Ontario. It is one of Canada's oldest continuous music festivals, having been staged every year since 1972 until the COVID-19 pandemic.

Sudbury Sudbury may refer to: Places Australia * Sudbury Reef, Queensland Canada * Greater Sudbury, Ontario ** Sudbury (federal electoral district) ** Sudbury (provincial electoral district) ** Sudbury Airport ** Sudbury Basin, a meteorite impact cra ...

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

. The song describes a 1778 summer

privateering A privateer is a private person or vessel which engages in commerce raiding under a commission of war. Since Piracy, robbery under arms was a common aspect of seaborne trade, until the early 19th century all merchant ships carried arms. A sover ...

journey to the Caribbean on a decrepit sloop, the ''Antelope'', captained by Elcid Barrett; when it engages in a failed raid on a larger American ship, the ''Antelope'' sinks and all the crew are killed except the singer, who returns six years later "a broken man", having lost both his legs in the disaster. Although Barrett, the ''Antelope'' and other specific instances mentioned in the song are fictional, "Barrett's Privateers" is full of many authentic details of privateering in the late 18th century. The song was released on the album ''

Fogarty's Cove ''Fogarty's Cove'' is a 1977 folk music album by Stan Rogers. It was his first album, released by Barnswallow Records, which was then purchased by Stan Rogers and made into Fogarty's Cove Records. The CD was one of several Stan Rogers albums rei ...

'' in 1976 and has since gained popularity as a

drinking song A drinking song is a song that is sung before or during Alcoholic beverage, alcohol consumption. Most drinking songs are Folk music, folk songs or commercium songs, and may be varied from person to person and region to region, in both the lyri ...

, with cover versions by many bands. It also appears on later Stan Rogers live albums ''

Home in Halifax ''Home in Halifax'' is a 1993 in music, 1993 live album by Stan Rogers. It was recorded by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, CBC during a concert Rogers performed at the Dalhousie Arts Centre, Rebecca Cohn Auditorium in City of Halifax, Halif ...

'' and '' Between the Breaks ... Live!'' The song makes use of

mixed meter A time signature (also known as meter signature, metre signature, and measure signature) is an indication in music notation that specifies how many note values of a particular type fit into each measure ( bar). The time signature indicates the ...

, regularly switching back and forth from to time. It is regarded as one of the

Royal Canadian Navy The Royal Canadian Navy (RCN; , ''MRC'') is the Navy, naval force of Canada. The navy is one of three environmental commands within the Canadian Armed Forces. As of February 2024, the RCN operates 12 s, 12 s, 4 s, 4 s, 8 s, and several auxiliary ...

's unofficial anthems, the unofficial anthem of

Atlantic Canada Atlantic Canada, also called the Atlantic provinces (), is the list of regions of Canada, region of Eastern Canada comprising four provinces: New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island. As of 2021, the landma ...

and also often heard sung at many Atlantic universities including (west to east)

University of New Brunswick The University of New Brunswick (UNB) is a public university with two primary campuses in Fredericton and Saint John, New Brunswick. It is the oldest English language, English-language university in Canada, and among the oldest public universiti ...

Mount Allison University Mount Allison University (also Mount A or MtA) is a Canadian primarily undergraduate liberal arts university located in Sackville, New Brunswick, founded in 1839. Mount Allison was the first university in the British Empire to award a baccal ...

Acadia University Acadia University is a public, predominantly Undergraduate education, undergraduate university located in Wolfville, Nova Scotia, Canada, with some Postgraduate education, graduate programs at the master's level and one at the Doctorate, doctor ...

Dalhousie University Dalhousie University (commonly known as Dal) is a large public research university in Nova Scotia, Canada, with three campuses in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Halifax, a fourth in Bible Hill, Nova Scotia, Bible Hill, and a second medical school campus ...

, Saint Mary's University,

University of King's College The University of King's College is a public university, public Liberal arts college, liberal arts university in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Halifax, Nova Scotia.Roper, Henry. "Aspects of the History of a Loyalist College: King's College, Windsor, and ...

St. Francis Xavier University St. Francis Xavier University is a public undergraduate liberal arts university located in Antigonish, Nova Scotia, Canada. It is a member of the Maple League, a group of primarily undergraduate universities in Eastern Canada. History St. Fran ...

Cape Breton University Cape Breton University (CBU) is a public university located in Sydney, Nova Scotia, Canada. It is the only post-secondary degree-granting institution within the Cape Breton Regional Municipality and on Cape Breton Island. The university is enabl ...

, St. John's College (Annapolis/Santa Fe), and

Memorial University of Newfoundland Memorial University of Newfoundland, or MUN (), is a Public university, public research university in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador, based in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, St. John's, with satellite campuses in Corner Brook ...

Cover versions

The popularity of "Barrett's Privateers" has inspired cover versions by many bands, such as the pirate metal band

Alestorm Alestorm are a Scottish heavy metal band formed in Perth in 2004. Their music is characterised by a pirate theme, and as a result, they have been dubbed a "pirate metal" band by many critics and their fanbase. The group currently consists of ...

on their third album, ''

Back Through Time ''Back Through Time'' is the third studio album by Scottish heavy metal band Alestorm. It was released on 3 June 2011 by Napalm Records and is the first Alestorm recording to feature Gareth Murdock on bass and Peter Alcorn on drums.

''. This cover also features a guitar solo by

Heri Joensen Heri Joensen (; born 21 February 1973) is a Faroese musician, notable for being the vocalist for the folk metal band Týr. Heri was born in the Faroe Islands capital of Tórshavn which has had an influence on his song writing. As well as Týr, ...

from

Týr (; Old Norse: , ) is a god in Germanic mythology and member of the . In Norse mythology, which provides most of the surviving narratives about gods among the Germanic peoples, sacrifices his right hand to the monstrous wolf , who bites it off ...

. The Australian band

Weddings Parties Anything Weddings Parties Anything. was an Australian folk rock band formed in 1984 in Melbourne and continuing until 1999. Their name came from The Clash song "Revolution Rock". Musicologist Billy Pinnell described their first album as the best Austral ...

and the folk group

Schooner Fare Schooner Fare is a Maine-based folk band, consisting of Steve Romanoff (vocals, six and twelve-string guitar, five-string banjo), Gregory "Chuck" Romanoff (vocals, twelve-string guitar, tenor banjo), and formerly Tom Rowe (vocals, bass guitar, ...

also covered this song. The song was recorded by the Scottish folk trio

The McCalmans The McCalmans (originally ''The Ian MacCalman Folk Group'') were a Scottish folk trio. Formed on 6 October 1964, they recorded and toured without interruption until they disbanded in December 2010. Their performance was based on three part harm ...

on their 1986 album Peace & Plenty (Song title spelled "Barratt's Privateers" on the album) Phil 'Swill' Odgers singer with the UK band

The Men They Couldn't Hang The Men They Couldn't Hang (TMTCH) are a British folk punk group. The original group consisted of Stefan Cush (vocals, guitar), Paul Simmonds (guitar, bouzouki, mandolin, keyboards), Philip "Swill" Odgers (vocals, guitar, tin whistle, melodic ...

has sung a solo version after learning the words and melody from

. Covered by Canadian folk band The Irish Descendants on their 1994 album ''Gypsies & Lovers''. The Cornerboys performed a comedic rap version, the Dub Pub Club Mix version; this was included on their mooseTracks beer premium CD from

Moosehead Breweries Moosehead Breweries Limited is Canada's oldest independent brewery, located in Saint John, New Brunswick. The brewery was founded in 1867 and is still privately owned and operated by the Oland family. The company is now in the sixth generation ...

in the early 2000s. Covered by

Fisherman's Friends The Fisherman's Friends are a folk music group from Port Isaac, Cornwall, who sing sea shanties. They have been performing locally since 1995, and signed a record deal with Universal Music in March 2010. Whilst essentially an a cappella group, ...

on their 2002 album ''Home From the Sea''. Covered by

the Corries The Corries were a Scottish folk group that emerged from the Scottish folk revival of the early 1960s. The group was a trio from their formation until 1966 when founder Bill Smith left the band but Roy Williamson and Ronnie Browne contin ...

and released on their 2006 album ''Barrett's Privateers''. In this version, the line "I wish I was in Sherbrooke now" is replaced with "I wish I was in

Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

now". Covered by

Blackbeard's Tea Party Blackbeard's Tea Party are a contemporary folk rock band based in York, England. The five-piece band plays a mix of traditional folk music, folk songs as well as covers of more recent songs from the folk genre. They are also known for their ins ...

on their 2011 album ''Tomorrow We'll Be Sober''. Covered by

on their 2011 album ''Back Through Time''. In 2012

the Kingston Trio The Kingston Trio is an American folk and pop music group that helped launch the folk revival of the late 1950s to the late 1960s. The group started as a San Francisco Bay Area nightclub act with an original lineup of Dave Guard, Bob Shane, ...

recorded an a cappella version on ''Born at the Right Time'' and Celtic punk band

the Real McKenzies The Real McKenzies is a Canadian Celtic punk band founded in 1992 and based in Vancouver, British Columbia. They are considered the founders of the Canadian Celtic punk movement, and were one of the first Celtic punk bands, albeit 10 years af ...

covered it on ''Westwinds''. As part of a comedy bit on ''

The Late Show with Stephen Colbert ''The Late Show with Stephen Colbert'' is an American late-night talk show, late-night news satire, news and liberal political satire talk show hosted by Stephen Colbert, which premiered on September 8, 2015. Produced by Stephen Colbert, Spartin ...

'' in July, 2022, both the host and

Jack White John Anthony White (; born July 9, 1975) is an American musician who achieved international fame as the guitarist and lead singer of the rock duo the White Stripes. As the White Stripes disbanded, he sought success with his solo career, subse ...

sang the first verse together, neither of them knowing that the other knew the song. Stephen Colbert had sung the song before in March 2022 with

Michael Bublé Michael Steven Bublé ( ; born September 9, 1975) is a Canadian singer and songwriter. Regarded as a pop icon, he is often credited for helping to renew public interest and appreciation for traditional pop standards and the Great American ...

. The singer Jonathan Young also made a cover of the song with Caleb Hyles, annapantsu,

Peyton Parrish Peyton Parrish (born 1996) is an American musician. He gained fame in 2020 with the song "My Mother Told Me" which was used in the TV series ''Vikings''. The following year, Peyton furthered his success with 3 Billboard number one songs, "Valha ...

, RichaadEB and Colm McGuinness in 2023. Ian Robb made a cover using different words under the title "Garnet's Home-Made Beer".

The Longest Johns The Longest Johns are an English folk musical group from Bristol, England, consisting of Andy Yates, Jonathan "JD" Darley, and Robbie Sattin. They are known for performing folk music and sea shanties in the English tradition, and they also comp ...

, a British folk music group, made a cover of the song in August 2023. Seth Staton Watkins covered the song on his album ''Songs of the Sea'' in 2023. The recording contains multiple harmonies, and he sings all of them. Paul Gross also covered the song in the series

Due South ''Due South'' is a Canadian crime comedy-drama television series created by Paul Haggis, and produced by Alliance Communications from its premiere on April 23, 1994, to its conclusion after four seasons on March 14, 1999. The series starred P ...

, in the two-part episode, "Mountie on the Bounty".

References

External links

Lyrics on Stan Rogers's website

US Navy plays Barrett's Privateers while leaving Halifax
on YouTube {{authority control Stan Rogers songs Songs about fishermen Songs about pirates Sea shanties Privateering in the American Revolutionary War Drinking songs 1976 songs Songs written by Stan Rogers Canadian patriotic songs Songs based on Canadian history