Pirates of the Caribbean Soundtrack: Composers and Key Songs

Three composers scored the five main Pirates of the Caribbean films: Klaus Badelt wrote the first, Hans Zimmer wrote the second, third and fourth, and Geoff Zanelli wrote the fifth. So, did Hans Zimmer do the music? He did for the middle three films, but not for the first or the last. Every score album came out on Walt Disney Records, and the saga itself grew out of the Disneyland ride that opened in 1967.

Klaus Badelt scored Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003), directed by Gore Verbinski. His 15 track album "Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl" arrived on July 22, 2003. The cues people search for are "The Medallion Calls", "The Black Pearl", "Swords Crossed", "Walk the Plank" and "Barbossa Is Hungry", with "Will and Elizabeth" and "Moonlight Serenade" as the quieter entries. The Curse of the Black Pearl album closes with "He's a Pirate".

Hans Zimmer then took over for three films in a row. His 12 track "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest" was released on July 4, 2006, for Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest (2006), and its headline cues are "Jack Sparrow", "The Kraken", "Davy Jones", "Tia Dalma" and "Two Hornpipes (Tortuga)". The 13 track "Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End" followed on May 17, 2007, for Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End (2007), with "Hoist the Colours", "Singapore", "The Brethren Court", "Calypso" and "What Shall We Die For" among its best known tracks. Both of those films were directed by Gore Verbinski.

Zimmer also scored Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides (2011), directed by Rob Marshall. Its 18 track album "Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides" was released on May 16, 2011, and the standout cues are "Guilty of Being Innocent of Being Jack Sparrow", "Angelica", "Mermaids", "Blackbeard" and "The Pirate That Should Not Be".

Geoff Zanelli composed Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales (2017), directed by Espen Sandberg and Joachim Rønning. The 17 track "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales" was released on May 26, 2017, and its best known cues are "Salazar", "The Devil’s Triangle", "Shansa" and the title track "Dead Men Tell No Tales".

A sixth film is in development, with no release date. According to TheWrap on August 16, 2026, producer Jerry Bruckheimer told Deadline at D23 that the team is talking with Johnny Depp and working on a screenplay. No cast or deal is confirmed, so no composer can be named yet. For the latest, see Pirates of the Caribbean 6.

The signature songs in the Pirates of the Caribbean films are "Yo Ho (A Pirate's Life for Me)" in The Curse of the Black Pearl, "Hoist the Colours" in At World's End and "Maggie Mae" in Dead Men Tell No Tales. Dead Man's Chest and On Stranger Tides have no sung piece with a documented scene, so those two films are remembered for their score cues.

The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003): young Elizabeth sings "Yo Ho (A Pirate's Life for Me)" on the ship in the opening scene, and she sings it again later on the island where she is marooned with Jack Sparrow. The performance is credited to the character Elizabeth Swann, not to a recording artist. Klaus Badelt scored the film, and his album for Walt Disney Records, released July 22, 2003, opens with "Fog Bound" and also holds "The Medallion Calls" and "The Black Pearl".

Dead Man's Chest (2006): the music people search for here is the score, and its cues are titled after the film's characters and creatures: "Jack Sparrow", "The Kraken", "Davy Jones" and "Tia Dalma". Hans Zimmer also wrote "Two Hornpipes (Tortuga)", "A Family Affair" and "Wheel of Fortune" for the same album.

At World's End (2007): "Hoist the Colours" is the standout, with Brendyn Bell and The Singing Gallows Pirates credited on the performance. A young boy sings it in the opening as pirates are led to the gallows, and a larger chorus takes it up later in the film. It was written for the film, and it is also the first track on Hans Zimmer's album, ahead of "Singapore" and "The Brethren Court".

On Stranger Tides (2011): the titles fans look for first are "Guilty of Being Innocent of Being Jack Sparrow", "Angelica" and "The Pirate That Should Not Be", with "Mermaids", "Blackbeard" and the title cue "On Stranger Tides" close behind.

Dead Men Tell No Tales (2017): Paul McCartney appears as Jack Sparrow's Uncle Jack and sings "Maggie Mae", a traditional Liverpool song, in a prison scene. Geoff Zanelli's score album also has cues named for the villain and the ghost ship setting, including "Salazar" and "The Devil's Triangle".

What is the Pirates of the Caribbean theme song? There is no single answer, because the saga has a different composer on each stretch: Klaus Badelt on the first film, Hans Zimmer on the next three and Geoff Zanelli on the fifth. If you want the sung piece people are most likely to hum, "Hoist the Colours" is the best candidate, since it opens At World's End and returns later in the film.

Our picks: the best songs in the Pirates of the Caribbean films (opinion)

• "Hoist the Colours": in my opinion, the best use of a song in the saga, since a single boy's voice opens the film and a chorus answers it later.
• "Yo Ho (A Pirate's Life for Me)": it is sung twice by young Elizabeth, so the first film gets a neat echo between its opening and the island scene.
• "Maggie Mae": a Paul McCartney cameo in a prison scene is a fun surprise, and a traditional Liverpool song suits the moment.
• "Angelica": it is one of the first titles fans look for on the 2011 album, and a good place to start on that score.
• "Guilty of Being Innocent of Being Jack Sparrow": the title alone sums up the character, and it is a fair entry point to the On Stranger Tides album.
• "Davy Jones": it is the cue that stands for the second film's villain, and it pairs well with "The Kraken" on the same album.
• "Salazar": it gives the villain of the fifth film his own cue, which is a strong calling card for Geoff Zanelli.

For collectibles beyond music, see pirates of the caribbean merchandise.