Let’s Sail North to stormy seas, sirens, and shadowy sails. All this and more in the exciting tales told through pirate-like Celtic shanties by rising Celtic Shanty Pop artist Sail North.
While Sail North has only released two original songs, he has quickly risen in fame since he began releasing music in late 2023. He now has over 350,000 followers on TikTok, as well as over 60,000 on YouTube, and over 200,000 on Instagram.
His music is not only unique for its chosen genre, but also for its amazing vocals and captivating stories. His first song was “The Tale of the Shadow” and his second was “Bones,” each receiving hundreds of thousands of views across his social media platforms, and each individually has received greater than 2 million views on YouTube.
In “The Tale of the Shadow,” he tells the story from the point of view of a captain of a ship searching for a legendary ghost ship called the Shadow which is supposedly filled with gold.
Along the way, the sea, weather, and even some mythical creatures seem to warn them away from the ship until they finally find the Shadow. Everything around, even the ocean, becomes uneasily calm, but they still decide to board the ship. He, the captain, tries to take the Shadow’s helm, and the song tells of the crew’s unwitting fate, “Her rigging came alive/ She hung my crew before me eyes/ She stole my sight and cursed me Captain of The Shadow.”
He then ends the song with a warning to all those who might seek the Shadow’s treasures, for “None can tame the one the sailors call The Shadow!”
His second song, “Bones,” begins in a rather unique way with the voice of a little girl innocently saying the words, “Fee, Fi, Fo, Fum/ I smell the… the bones of an English Man.”
The line ends with an adorable giggle that fades into a crew of male voices, changing to a more piratelike tone, mirroring the little girl’s line with, “Fee, Fi, Fo, Fum/ Crossbones, swords, and a bottle of rum.”
As the song continues, he and the crew of male voices sing of the pirates’ life, the many dangers they face as pirates, and of the place “Where dead men hang their bones.” He also brings into the song modified lyrics from “What Do You Do with A Drunken Sailor,” one of the most well-known shanties ever created.
He ends the song with “Hoist the Jolly Rodger” and a hearty laugh in sharp contrast from the adorable and innocent giggle used in the beginning of the song.
If you enjoy shanties, especially pirate-like ones, or even if you’re just looking into trying something new, Sail North is well worth the listen. If you find yourself enjoying his music and want to hear more from him, he released a full song cover of “Soldier, Poet, King” in collaboration with singer Nelson Bass (aka Ebucs).
He has also released a few mini covers of other songs and original mini songs on various social media platforms such as TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube. Sail North has also announced and released a short clip of his third original song called “Unsinkable,” which he plans to release on February 2. It is available for pre-save/add on Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, Deezer, and Tidal.
The reason a little girl was in bones was because someone sent him a recording of their niece and he turned it into a song.