The "Coast of High Barbary" is a traditional song (

Roud The Roud Folk Song Index is a database of around 250,000 references to nearly 25,000 songs collected from oral tradition in the English language from all over the world. It is compiled by Steve Roud. Roud's Index is a combination of the Broadsid ...

134) which was popular among British and American sailors. It is most frequently sung as a

ballad A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads were particularly characteristic of the popular poetry and song of Great Britain and Ireland from the Late Middle Ages until the 19th century. They were widely used across Eur ...

but can also be 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 ...

. It tells of a sailing ship that came across a pirate ship off the

Barbary Coast The Barbary Coast (also Barbary, Berbery, or Berber Coast) were the coastal regions of central and western North Africa, more specifically, the Maghreb and the Ottoman borderlands consisting of the regencies in Algiers, Tunis, and Tripoli, a ...

and defeated the

pirates Piracy is an act of robbery or criminal violence by ship or boat-borne attackers upon another ship or a coastal area, typically with the goal of stealing cargo and valuable goods, or taking hostages. Those who conduct acts of piracy are call ...

, who were left to drown. An earlier version of the ballad is found in the Stationers’ Register for January 14, 1595 and tells the story of two merchant ships, the George Aloe and the Sweepstake, both sailing to Safee. While the George Aloe was resting at anchor, the Sweepstake sailed on, but a French ship attacked the Sweepstake and threw the crew overboard. The George Aloe gave chase and defeated the French ship, whose crew were shown no mercy because of the fate of the crew of the Sweepstake. The most common lyrics may refer to the problems European and North American traders had with the North African pirates in the second half of the 18th century and the early 19th century, which led to the

Barbary Wars The Barbary Wars were a series of two wars fought by the United States, Sweden, and the Kingdom of Sicily against the Barbary states (including Tunis, Algiers, and Tripoli) and Morocco of North Africa in the early 19th century. Sweden had bee ...

English version

The Coasts of High BarbaryOne Hundred English Folksongs By Cecil James SharpHigh Barbary (West Country tune)High Barbaree (capstan chantey version)

American version

The Coasts of High Barbary

Recordings

*1959: The

Roger Wagner Chorale The Roger Wagner Chorale is an American choir founded by choral musician and educator Roger Wagner in 1946. History In 1937, Roger Wagner joined the MGM chorus in Hollywood and was subsequently appointed Music Director of St. Joseph's Churc ...

on ''Sea Chanties'' *1969: The McCalmans on Singers Three * * * * * Maritime music Sea shanties Ballads Songs with unknown songwriters Year of song unknown category:Songs about pirates Barbary piracy {{song-stub