Listen
Arrangement: Ian J. Watts / Mike Wilbury · Singalongasong Band / ClassicRocks
Lyrics
When I was one, I sucked my thumb,
The day I went to sea.
I climbed aboard a pirate ship
And the Captain said to me:
We're going this way, that way,
Forwards, backwards,
Over the Irish Sea.
A bottle of rum to fill my tum,
A pirate's life for me!
When I was two, I buckled my shoe,
The day I went to sea.
I climbed aboard a pirate ship
And the Captain said to me:
We're going this way, that way,
Forwards, backwards,
Over the Irish Sea.
A bottle of rum to fill my tum,
A pirate's life for me!
When I was three, I grazed my knee,
The day I went to sea.
I climbed aboard a pirate ship
And the Captain said to me:
We're going this way, that way,
Forwards, backwards,
Over the Irish Sea.
A bottle of rum to fill my tum,
A pirate's life for me!
When I was four, I swam ashore,
The day I went to sea.
I climbed aboard a pirate ship
And the Captain said to me:
We're going this way, that way,
Forwards, backwards,
Over the Irish Sea.
A bottle of rum to fill my tum,
A pirate's life for me!
When I was five, I learned to dive,
The day I went to sea.
I climbed aboard a pirate ship
And the Captain said to me:
We're going this way, that way,
Forwards, backwards,
Over the Irish Sea.
A bottle of rum to fill my tum,
A pirate's life for me!
When I was six, I gathered sticks,
The day I went to sea.
I climbed aboard a pirate ship
And the Captain said to me:
We're going this way, that way,
Forwards, backwards,
Over the Irish Sea.
A bottle of rum to fill my tum,
A pirate's life for me!
When I was seven, I went to Devon,
The day I went to sea.
I climbed aboard a pirate ship
And the Captain said to me:
We're going this way, that way,
Forwards, backwards,
Over the Irish Sea.
A bottle of rum to fill my tum,
A pirate's life for me!
When I was eight, I was almost late,
The day I went to sea.
I climbed aboard a pirate ship
And the Captain said to me:
We're going this way, that way,
Forwards, backwards,
Over the Irish Sea.
A bottle of rum to fill my tum,
A pirate's life for me!
When I was nine, I was feeling fine,
The day I went to sea.
I climbed aboard a pirate ship
And the Captain said to me:
We're going this way, that way,
Forwards, backwards,
Over the Irish Sea.
A bottle of rum to fill my tum,
A pirate's life for me!
When I was ten, I started again,
The day I went to sea.
I climbed aboard a pirate ship
And the Captain said to me:
We're going this way, that way,
Forwards, backwards,
Over the Irish Sea.
A bottle of rum to fill my tum,
A pirate's life for me!
Traditional lyrics — public domain. Arrangement © Singalongasong Band / ClassicRocks.
History & Background
History & Origin
"The Pirate Song" is a counting song built on the traditional formula of "When I was one..." — a structure that appears in various forms across the children's song repertoire, allowing counting from one to ten while embedding each number in a rhyming couplet. Here, each number is paired with an age-appropriate action: sucking a thumb at one, buckling a shoe at two, grazing a knee at three.
The pirate setting provides the adventure narrative that makes the counting memorable. Each age brings the singer back to the same pirate ship, the same Captain, and the same invitation to sail the Irish Sea. The repetition of the chorus — "this way, that way, forwards, backwards, over the Irish Sea" — functions as a physical action, with children swaying and pointing in the named directions as the song proceeds.
The Irish Sea, as the setting for the pirate adventure, places the song firmly in the British Isles tradition, as opposed to the Caribbean or the South Seas. These are domestic pirates, sailing familiar waters. The Captain's offer of "a bottle of rum to fill my tum" is treated as the great adventure it clearly represents to a child who has just been sucking their thumb.
Our rock arrangement gives the song the swashbuckling energy it deserves.
