The Beatles as buccaneers sailing the sea... or, just naviagting middle C

I know it sounds far-fetched that the fab four would fly the Jolly Roger, but, its true me Buccaneer Beatle Freaks! Well, at least in my mind. The Beatles came from the seaport city of Liverpool, which is mentioned in many maritime songs. The seaport influence on the Beatles is pointed out  in the liner notes of the Rogue's Gallery CD - a collection put together by Gore Verbinski and Johnny Depp, and featuring Bono, Bryan Ferry, Sting, Lou Reed, Nick Cave, and others (note: this is not a kids CD).

The notes intimate that John Lennon in particular betrayed this buccaneer influence, at least melodically and harmonically. I they're refering to Norwegian Wood with its dorain scale chord progression, and Working Class Hero in the minor key. Try to think of these songs being sung in a dockside tavern with a mug o' grog at hand.

Then there's Macca. Paul McCartney recorded with a guitarist named Mick Green, who originally played with a band called Johnny Kidd and the Pirates. OK, me hearties, I know that's pretty skimpy evidence. So, I ask you to consider the song Morse Moose and the Grey Goose written with Denny Laine, from the London Town album. Here is one of the verses:

     she flew into the stormy
     Davy Jones was callin' me
     but headin for tranquility
     the Grey Goose flew away

Also, Paul's Beatle classic Blackbird is begging for a 'Blackbeard' parody. Alright, I've already written one. More about that in a future blog.

What about the Quiet Beatle? George Harrison, as it turns out, was not so quiet. He recorded a silly chantey with Monty Python called The Pirate Song with these lines "I have a Jolly Roger, its black and wide and vast" and "I sail the BBC". You can find it on YouTube.

Last, but not least, we have Ringo. Octopus's Garden! Need I say more? Octopus collect shiny objects and put them outside their caves. In an anthropormorphic sense, they are making a sculpture garden. Ringo brought forth a sunken treasure with that gem of a song.

Hey, I gotta go and "rest my head on a sea bed".

A BUCCANEER’S BACK STORY

Why do I call myself Rockin’ Ron the Friendly Pirate? Let’s break it down: Rockin’ is about music, attitude, and a ship’s motion on the sea; Ron is the name given to me by my mother; Friendly means thoughtful and nice; and finally, Pirate is a daring, fun-loving, and costume wearing purveyor of nautical-themed mischief. But why do I wear the patch above my eye? It is non-threatening to little children, it is less cliché than wearing it on me eye, I get dizzy when I wear it over me eye for an extended period of time, and it looks silly on my nose.

Isn’t the name Friendly Pirate an oxymoron, like the term Jumbo Shrimp? Yes, it is an oxymoron (just don’t call me a moron, unless you want ‘MORE Ron’ – haha). Generally, pirates are defined as thieves on a body of water. There have been pirates as long as people have been sailing. The pirates we are most familiar with in Western Culture are those from the Golden Age of Piracy when the European Powers were dividing up the spoils of the New World. Listen to my song "Pirates and Privateers" to hear about some of the Golden Age Pirates. Anyway, I talk and sing like a Pirate (no bad words of course), and I also dress and dance like a Pirate, but the only thing I want to steal is your heart! 

What about me family, you ask? Me pappy Renaldo makes locks for Treasure Chests. His locks are so fancy and so expensive, he has to give away the keys at no extra charge. So, they call him the "Free-key Pirate". Me mum Penelope loves tropical fruit such as oranges, bananas, and pineapple (her favorite). So ,they call her the "Fruity Pirate". The union of “Free-key” and “Fruity” produced “Friendly”, and my sister Pearl the Purple Pirate Princess (huh?). Other family includes my cousin named Silver Long Johns, who is known as the Cranky Pirate. I have pets - Polly Esther Pants, Scurvy Dog, and Scaredy Cat.

How did we end up in Vermont? Well, it is close to the St. Lawrence Seaway, but the real reason is that me mum, the "Fruity Pirate", heard that Vermont has pineapple trees. At first, she was disappointed that there were no pineapple trees... but there are pine trees and apple tress. So, we docked the Friend Ship and dropped anchor.

One last question. Am I the famous jazz bassist Ron Carter? No, but he did release an album called Peg Leg – haha!