Sea Of Thieves does a lot to capture people's mythologized ideas of pirates and turn them into a game of high stakes and adventure. But in between those heart-racing experiences are the quiet moments spent on the sea with just shanties to keep you company.

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A number of shanties can be heard in Sea Of Thieves. Whether through the instruments you have with you at all times or by hearing the music in other places. They do a great job enhancing the atmosphere of calm moments on the water, harrowing times in the storms, and intense moments of battle. Of course, some do an even better job than others, and we'll explore that on this list.

13 Happy Birthday

Sea Of Thieves shot of group of 3 pirates holding instruments

You don't need to have played Sea Of Thieves to know what this sounds like. It's the same Happy Birthday you hear probably dozens of times every year. There's nothing particularly wrong with this games' rendition of the classic tune. It's just not a song with so much purpose most of the year. The one day it's your birthday and your Sea Of Thieves crew mates play you the song, I'm sure you'll be thrilled. The rest of the time? It's an easy skip.

12 Jolly Good Fellow

Sea Of Thieves shot of pirate on dock with banjo

Like Happy Birthday, you've most definitely heard this tune long before booting up Sea Of Thieves for the first time. Jolly Good Fellow is also a popular tune around birthdays or just any other celebration of a special person. Also like Happy Birthday, this shanty brings up the bottom of this list simply for not being something you'll feel the need to play most of the time at sea. It doesn't conjure the emotions of a rough or exciting life as an outlaw on the open waters like the later entries.

11 Summon The Megalodon

Sea Of Thieves shot of megalodon and sailor

The Megalodon is a fierce foe that appears when you least expect it in Sea Of Thieves. It's large, foreboding, and by no means an easy kill. Which is why the song that signals its entry just doesn't feel quite right.

It's not a bad song. It just feels fairly standard, and finding a Megalodon is anything but standard. They're difficult to come across, and finding one really boils down to just playing a lot and getting lucky. So the music should probably reflect how intense the players feel when they finally stumble across the behemoth shark.

10 Yo Ho (A Pirate's Life)

Sea Of Thieves landscape shot with pirate on island facing ship

If you walk up to a random person on the street and ask them to sing a "pirate-themed song", chances are fairly good that they'll begin to sing "Yo ho, yo ho, a pirate's life for me". With Disney's Pirates of the Caribbean ride, they somehow managed to craft a tune as culturally prevalent as pirates themselves.

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Of course, they had to include it in the most popular pirate video game out right now. But, after 60 years of this being "the pirate song", it's nice to hear the tracks put higher on this list capturing the pirating spirit in more original ways.

9 Ride Of The Valkyries

Sea Of Thieves shot of organ with tall tale on top

This is a rendition of the world-renowned act 3 opener in Richard Wagner's opera Die Walküre. It doesn't quite generate the feeling of pirate life given that the opera premiered in the late-19th century, after the age of steamboats began and sail-driven ships had become as much a part of history as they are today. But this version of Ride Of The Valkyries still generates the grandiose, epic swell of emotions that made it so famous in the first place. Even if it feels a tad out of place, it still serves its purpose.

8 We Shall Sail Together

Sea Of Thieves shot of skeleton hunched over on dock

Yet another familiar melody coming through on this track. This is a very interesting rendition of Drunken Sailor, a genuine Irish Sea shanty, but using only the melody and none of the torture-focused lyrics the shanty is really based on. We Shall Sail Together tops many of the other renditions of pre-existing songs on this list for the creative liberties it takes over its source material. Hearing an interesting take on a real sea shanty from the time of drunken sailors adds a lot to the Sea Of Thieves experience.

7 Bosun Bill/Maiden Voyage

Sea Of Thieves screenshot of official artwork

Bosun Bill and Maiden Voyage are original shanties composed for Sea Of Thieves. They've both taken the same ranking for their similar strengths and weaknesses. They're tunes with upbeat rhythms and melodies that match that; Bosun Bill's melody even mixes it with a bit of a dangerous feeling as well. These are two of the best warmup shanties before going into a big treasure hunt or as the precursor to a potentially deadly meeting with one of the game's most dangerous enemies.

The main thing holding the shanties back is that they're a bit one-note. Mostly just repeating a similar format over and over.

6 Becalmed

Sea Of Thieves shot of small ship sailing calm waters

Becalmed is the optimal tune for the most tranquil moments at sea. The slow and euphoric music pairs best with clear skies, still waters, and some time to go until your next fight or big task. It's without a doubt the most "folk-y" sounding tune of the bunch. The way all the instruments, along with the whistling present on every shanty, swell and rescind together is very reminiscent of old Appalachian bluegrass tunes.

Hopefully, your playtime will be exciting enough that you won't have to hear this track too often, though.

5 Seek The Dead

Sea Of Thieves shot of skeleton ghosts

There aren't many shanties in Sea Of Thieves with much dissonance. Seek The Dead makes use of it to harrowing and creepy effect. This track is best used as the precursor to many of the game's scariest moments. Skeleton crews, krakens, and black waters are best matched by this tune slow minor chords and banjo arpeggios. Or it could be used as the spooky background to a tall tale.

4 1812

Sea Of Thieves shot of tool selection screen with banjo highlighted

1812 is a rendition of the famous overture composed by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. Like Ride Of The Valkyries, it's a classic piece of music from the late-19th century (having been written in 1880 and not 1812 like you might think) and thus feels slightly out of time being placed in the swashbuckling era of Sea Of Thieves.

However, 1812 still lands fairly high on this list for the level of complexity that went into a rendition of a track like this. The whistling alone is more than a little impressive, and it's the most fanciful track among the shanties.

3 Who Shall Not Be Returning

Sea Of Thieves shot of cannon fire exchange at sea

Even just hearing this shanty's name gives you a sobering reminder of what pirate life really meant for so many. People sailed out and never came back. This shanty is something of a funeral song or a eulogy for lost friends.

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Maybe that's a bit too much of a letdown to put it at the top of the ranking, but the music is beautiful, regardless. Who Shall Not Be Returning is a shanty to play as you sink with the ship.

2 Stitcher's Sorrow

Sea Of Thieves screenshot of banjo skin

This shanty takes up the second spot on the ranking for the potential versatility found in its beautiful and haunting, if not a bit slow-paced, melody. Stitcher's Sorrow is a song that can be played as an intense and somber opening to some large adventure, or as the bittersweet closer where some was gained and much was lost. It sounds gorgeous and continues to soar as the shanty progresses on and on.

1 Grogg Mayles

Sea Of Thieves shot of 2 sailors with instruments

Grogg Mayles is the perfect track that encompasses what players love about Sea Of Thieves. The upbeat and exotic melody is matched by a rhythm that switches between a danceable beat and one that swoons like wind pushing over the waves. It fully encompasses the pirate's life played out in the game. It feels like adventure on the horizon and beautiful land and sea on all sides. These are the reasons why it's certainly a track to keep on hand if you need to revitalize the energy on a demoralized, looted crew.

Next: Sea Of Thieves: How To Complete The Shrouded Islands Adventure