Ten years. It has been over a decade since Edward Kenway first stepped onto the deck of the Jackdaw, yet we are still talking about the music. Most games are lucky if you remember their main theme for a week. But Black Flag sea shanties? They’re different. They have staying power that transcends the medium of gaming itself. You don't even need to be a gamer to recognize the opening hum of "The Worst Old Ship."
It’s weird, honestly. We are talking about a big-budget Ubisoft title from 2013 that focused on parkouring across Caribbean rooftops and stabbing Templars in the neck. Yet, if you ask a fan what they remember most, it isn’t the combat or the stealth. It’s the vibe. It’s that specific feeling of cresting a massive wave while your crew bellows "Leave Her Johnny" in perfect, rough-around-the-edges harmony.
The Raw Authenticity Behind the Recording
Ubisoft didn’t just grab some session singers and tell them to sound like pirates. That would have been too clean. Too polished. Instead, they went for something that felt lived-in. The development team worked with musicians who understood the "call and response" nature of work songs. These weren't meant to be concert performances; they were tools for survival.
Sea shanties served a functional purpose on real 18th-century ships. They synchronized physical labor. If you’ve ever tried to pull a heavy rope alone, you know it sucks. Now imagine doing that with forty other guys on a slippery deck during a gale. You need a rhythm. The "shantyman" would lead with a line, and the crew would heave on the response.
In the game, this authenticity is mirrored by the way the audio was mixed. The voices aren't perfectly tuned. You can hear the grit. There’s a specific "bellow" to the bass voices that makes the Jackdaw feel heavy and real.
Why "Drunken Sailor" is Only the Beginning
Most people know "What Shall We Do with a Drunken Sailor?" It’s the pop star of the shanty world. It’s catchy, fast, and easy to yell. But the Black Flag sea shanties list goes so much deeper than the radio hits.
Take "Lowlands Away." It’s a haunting, melancholic track that shifts the entire mood of the game. Suddenly, you aren't an invincible pirate king; you’re just a guy a long way from home, thinking about a life he walked away from. This emotional range is why the soundtrack works. It isn't all rum and jokes. It’s grief, exhaustion, and the crushing weight of the sea.
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Some of the best tracks in the game aren't even traditionally "pirate" songs from the Golden Age. The researchers took some liberties, pulling from the 19th-century whaling tradition because those songs had the best melodies for a modern audience. Does it matter that a song from 1840 is being sung in 1715? Not really. Not when it sounds that good.
The Gameplay Loop Nobody Expected to Love
Let's talk about those flying papers. You know the ones. You’re running across a clothesline in Havana, and suddenly a sheet of music starts drifting away on the wind.
Mechanically, it was a parkour challenge. Practically, it was a quest for new content. Collecting Black Flag sea shanties became a primary motivator for exploration. You didn't just want the 100% completion stat; you wanted your crew to have a bigger repertoire so you wouldn't hear "Bully in the Alley" for the tenth time in an hour.
It changed how we perceived the "grind." Usually, collectibles in open-world games feel like busywork. Here, they felt like an investment in the atmosphere. Every time you caught a new page, the reward was immediate. You’d get back on the ship, press the d-pad, and hear something fresh. It turned the ocean—which could have been a boring, empty space between missions—into a literal jukebox.
The Real History of the Shantyman
The game portrays the crew singing as a democratic, joyful collective. History is a bit grimmer, as it usually is. Life on a ship was brutal. Discipline was enforced with the cat-o'-nine-tails, and the food was often literal garbage.
However, the role of the shantyman was real and highly valued. A good shantyman could actually get paid more than a regular sailor. Why? Because he made the work faster. He kept morale from bottoming out. If the crew was singing, they were working. If they were working, the ship was moving.
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In Assassin’s Creed IV, this is simplified for entertainment, but the core truth remains: the music was the heartbeat of the vessel.
Why We Are Still Singing Them in 2026
You probably remember the "ShantyTok" craze from a few years back. Nathan Evans sang "The Wellerman," and suddenly everyone on the internet was a maritime historian. That didn't happen in a vacuum. A huge portion of that audience grew up playing Black Flag. The groundwork for that viral moment was laid by a video game.
There is something primal about these songs. We live in a world that is increasingly digital, fragmented, and lonely. Sea shanties are the opposite of that. They are communal. They require a group. They are loud.
When you listen to the Black Flag sea shanties, you're tapping into a tradition of shared labor and shared struggle. That resonates, whether you're sailing a digital brig or just stuck in traffic on your way to a job you hate.
The Top Tier: A Breakdown of the Best Tracks
If you’re revisiting the soundtrack, you have to look past the obvious choices.
- "The Rio Grande": This one has a sweeping, epic feel. It’s perfect for when you’re leaving port and the world feels wide open.
- "Spanish Ladies": A classic "homeward bound" song. It’s rhythmic and steady, perfect for long-distance travel.
- "Running Down to Cuba": High energy, fast-paced, and aggressive. This is the one you want when you're hunting a Man O' War.
- "Dead Horse": A weirdly specific song about the end of a sailor's debt period. It’s quirky, rhythmic, and incredibly catchy.
Navigating the Technical Side of the Music
The audio engineering in Black Flag is an underrated feat. The game uses a dynamic system to manage the singing. If you enter combat, the music doesn't just cut out; the crew stops singing to attend to their stations. When the fight is over, they might pick the song back up, or the mood might shift.
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The developers actually recorded two versions of every shanty: a "pro" version for the soundtrack and a "crew" version for the game. The crew version is intentionally less perfect. It has more ambient noise—the creaking of the ship, the splashing of water. That layer of "dirt" is what makes the experience immersive.
Honestly, if the vocals were too clean, the illusion would break. You’d feel like you were listening to a CD instead of standing on a deck.
Common Misconceptions About Pirate Music
People think pirates just sang all day. In reality, pirate ships were often quieter than merchant ships because they were trying to avoid being spotted. Also, some captains actually banned singing because they thought it interfered with orders.
But the "Black Flag" version of history is the one we want to live in. We want the version where the crew is a band of brothers united by song. It’s a romanticized view of a very dark period of human history, but music has always been a way to polish the rough edges of reality.
Actionable Ways to Experience the Music Today
If you're looking to dive back into this world, don't just put on a YouTube loop. There are better ways to engage with the history and the art of the shanty.
- Check out the official "Sea Shanty Edition" soundtrack: It contains the raw recordings without the game's sound effects, allowing you to hear the vocal harmonies in high definition.
- Look into The Longest Johns or The Dreadnoughts: These are modern bands that have kept the tradition alive. The Longest Johns, in particular, owe a huge debt to the interest sparked by Black Flag.
- Learn the terminology: Understanding the difference between a "Short Drag" shanty (for quick pulls) and a "Windlass" shanty (for long, continuous work) changes how you hear the rhythm.
- Play the game with the HUD off: If you want the peak experience, turn off the mini-map and the icons. Just sail by the stars and the sound of the crew. It’s the closest you’ll get to the Golden Age of Piracy without getting scurvy.
The legacy of these songs isn't just about nostalgia. It’s about the fact that good songwriting—even songwriting that is 200 years old—never actually dies. It just waits for a new medium to bring it back to life. In 2013, that medium was a game about pirates. Today, it's a permanent fixture of our cultural landscape.
Start by listening to "Leave Her Johnny." Pay attention to the way the voices drop off at the end of the phrases. That’s the sound of a crew that’s finished their work. It’s the sound of the end of an era. And it still hits just as hard as it did when you first heard it on the deck of the Jackdaw.