I've been prepping for a Savage Tide game that refuses to get off the ground, which has given me a deal of time to think about extras for running the campaign. One that's always fun to invest some time in is music. Here's some of my favorite nautical tunes that I'll have on in the background if this group will ever get its act together:
If I Were a Blackbird by Amy White
If I were a Blackbird
I'd whistle and I'd sing
And I'd follow the vessel my true love sails in.
And in the top rigging, there I'd build my nest.
Back Home in Derry by John Close
We cursed them to hell
As our bow fought the swell
Our ship danced like a moth in the firelight
White horses rode high
As a devil passed by
Taking souls to hades by twilight
Five weeks out to sea we were now 43
We buried our comrades each morning
A Health to the Company by Owain Phyfe
Our ship lies at harbor
she's ready to dock
I wish her safe landing
without any shock
Nelson's Blood by The Seadogs
A classic sea chanty around the legend of Admiral Nelson's death in the Battle of Trafalgar. Legend has it that his body was preserved in a cask of brandy so that he could be buried at land rather than at sea. When the navy returned to shore, they found that the cask he was being kept in had been tapped by accident and they'd been drinking the Admiral's blood during the voyage home.
Barrett's Privateers, by the late, great (Canadian) Stan Rogers!!! (Respect, yo) You really need to hear this one. No music accompanies it, just people clapping and stopping!
O the year was 1778
How I wish I was in Sherbrooke now
A letter of marque came from the king
To the scummiest vessel I've ever seen
G&$ d@%n them all
I was told we'd cruise the seas for American gold
We'd fire no guns, shed no tears
Now I'm a broken man on a Halifax pier,
The last of Barrett's Privateers
2. O Elcid Barrett cried the town
How I wish I was in Sherbrooke now
For twenty brave men all fishermen who
Would make for him the Antelope's crew
G&+ d~#n them all . . . .
3. The Antelope sloop was a sickening site
How I wish I was in Sherbrooke now
She'd list to the port and her sails in rags
And the cook in the scuppers with the staggers and jags
G!~ d~~n them all . . . .
4. On the King's birthday we put to sea
How I wish I was in Sherbrooke now
Ninety-one days to Montego Bay
Pumping like madmen all the way
G&+ d$*n them all . . . .
5. On the ninety-sixth day we sailed again
How I wish I was in Sherbrooke now
When a great big Yankee hove in sight
With our cracked four-pounders we made to fight
G%& d~$n them all . . . .
6. The Yankee lay low down with gold
How I wish I was in Sherbrooke now
She was broad and fat and loose in stays
But to catch her took the Antelope two whole days
G&@ d*$n them all . . . .
7. Then at length she stood two cables away
How I wish I was in Sherbrooke now
Our cracked four-pounders made awful din
But with one fat ball the Yank stove us in
G@# d&~n them all . . . .
8. The Antelope shook and pitched on her side
How I wish I was in Sherbrooke now
Barrett was smashed like a bowl of eggs
And the main truck carried off both me legs
G$* d$@n them all . . . .
9. Now here I lay in my twenty-third year
How I wish I was in Sherbrooke now
It's been six years since we sailed away
And I just made Halifax yesterday
G#& d@$n them all . . . .
You might want to look into Barratt's Privateers by Stan Rogers, Good Ship Venus by Louden Wainwright (but only if you have a group of perverse adults), and the album Rogue's Gallery (a collection of pirate tunes).
The thing I've found is that the pirate/nautical songs can be distracting as anything other than pre-game music. Soundtracks with limited vocals seem to work best at setting the proper mood. Some examples of things I've used:
As for what I plan to use in the months ahead:
I've also used a lot of the Pogues, the Dubliners, and Braveheart.
Colour me amused that this was an article in the Dragon issue to land on my doorstep yesterday.
It's a shame so many of the songs aren't downloadable for 99 cents, but rather require purchasing an album.
Creative Director
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It's a shame so many of the songs aren't downloadable for 99 cents, but rather require purchasing an album.
True... but to be honest, those albums on the Savage Tide soundtrack that fall into that category are, in fact, quite excellent. The themes and music on those albums (such as The Omen III and Eaters of the Dead) can work really well for additional music in the Savage tide, in any event.
If you like movie soundtracks that work really well for D&D game background music, they're really solid choices.
I find that John Debney's orchestral score for the movie Cutthroat Island is the most applicable for the Savage Tide, and although I don't use music in my games, if I were to try it, (specifically for Savage Tide), that would be it.