Pirates of the Caribbean

Image: Disney

Other artists have added to the musical tapestry of Disney themed attractions as well. Some of them weren’t even technically musicians yet they did what they could do to impress the head of WED Enterprises. A perfect example is Xavier Atencio, a cartoonist by trade. The illustrator signed with Walt Disney Pictures in 1938 when he was only 19 years old. He was understandably willing to do anything to keep his dream job with the company.

Over the years, Disney asked his artist to develop myriad talents including storytelling, which is why Atencio’s fingerprints are all over the Haunted Mansion. He also earned the opportunity to work on Pirates of the Caribbean. Because of this odd job, Atencio still collects royalties as a songwriter. He composed the music while actual composer George Bruns wrote the lyrics.

Bruns enjoyed a more regular trajectory as a Disney employee. He composed the music for the Davy Crockett television series that became the pop culture staple of the mid-1950s. After that, he’d earned Walt Disney’s loyalty and admiration for life. Bruns earned four Academy Awards nominations for his Disney film compositions such as Robin Hood, Sleeping Beauty, and my beloved The Sword in the Stone.

The origin of the song is simple. Pirates of the Caribbean was the final attraction Walt Disney constructed prior to his death. He asked Atencio to step outside his comfort zone to enhance the thrills and humor of the ride with some musical accompaniment. In order to maximize his employee’s chance at success, Disney paired him with a trusted musician. Together, they wrote a silly, fun song that’s been celebrated and lampooned from artists as diverse as Jimmy Buffett, the Jonas Brothers, and Smosh.

Image: Disney

An actual musician working with an illustrator seems like an unlikely combination but with the benefit of hindsight, it exemplifies how capably Uncle Walt drew out the best work of his employees by taking them outside their comfort zones. Bruns and Atencio quickly deduced that a pirate shanty needed the right tone of raucousness and humor to succeed. If it were too scary, it’d frighten the children who make up the life’s blood of Disney theme park attendance.

Instead, they highlighted the frivolity of a life spent passing time on the open sea. And what drives away boredom better than alcohol? Perhaps no lyric at any Disney attraction gets to the core of its subject matter better than “We pillage, we plunder, we rifle and loot.  Drink up, me hearties, you ho!”

This staple of Yo Ho (A Pirate’s Life for Me) not only became an instant classic for the E-Ticket theme park attraction, Pirates of the Caribbean, but also wound up as a key plot point of the film franchise based on the attraction, one that wouldn’t debut until roughly 40 years later.

Yo Ho is a ludicrously over the top celebration of professional honesty. Pirates have no need to put on airs. Instead, they spend their downtime relishing the scandalous behavior that makes their lifestyle so forbidden. They were the adrenaline junkies of the 18th and 19th century, and Bruns drives that point home repeatedly with his unrepentant lyrics. Out of all the songs discussed in this piece, Yo Ho is the most fun to sing, especially if you have an uncorked jug of rum in your hand.