Sing a Song a Sixpence is described at Snopes as being a pirate recruiting jingle. I recall “What Shall we do with the Drunken Sailor?” and “Blow the Man Down” from my youth. Is anyone familiar with other old pirate ditties?
“We Be Three Poor Mariners.” http://www.contemplator.com/sea/mariners.html
That’s silly and disappointing. I always understood Snopes’ site to be definitive, not spoofy.
If it makes you feel any better, it probably is true that “Big Rock Candy Mountain” originally was, or was based on, a song sung by hoboes to lure small boys away to be the hoboes’ “punks” (slaves and concubines). http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Rock_Candy_Mountain
I am quite familiar with those and other ditties, having recorded 2 sea chantie albums, what is your question?
In Maryland, there’s a group called The Pyrates Royale that performs and records many pirate ditties. Not sure how widely distributed they are outside Takoma Park, though. Great fun.