Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag soundtrack

The Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag soundtrack is a collection of music tracks written by American composer Brian Tyler that were used as background music in Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag. It was released digitally on October 14, 2013. Two additional albums featuring the game's sea shanties and a "complete" compilation adding the multiplayer music were released later.

Track listing

1. Assassin's Creed IV Black Flag Main Theme - 2:13
2. Pyrates Beware - 3:16
3. On the Horizon - 3:01
4. The High Seas - 2:44
5. The Fortune of Edward Kenway - 1:57
6. In This World or the One Below - 2:49
7. Under the Black Flag - 3:21
8. The Ends of the Earth - 2:53
9. Stealing a Brig - 1:52
10. Fare Thee Well - 5:14
11. The Buccaneers - 4:05
12. Marked for Death - 3:21
13. Last Goodbyes - 2:24
14. Take What Is Ours! - 3:15
15. I'll Be with You - 6:04
16. Lay Aboard Lads - 2:24
17. A Pirate's Life - 2:02
18. Men of War - 2:57
19. Order of the Assassin - 3:10
20. In the Midst - 3:05
21. The British Empire - 3:08
22. Batten Down the Hatches - 1:37
23. Modernity - 2:14
24. A Merry Life and a Short One - 1:16
25. Queen Anne's Revenge - 4:42
26. Confrontation - 3:15
27. Prizes Plunder and Adventure - 2:12
28. Meet the Sage - 3:36
29. Into the Jungle - 1:46
30. The Spanish Empire - 3:57
31. The Islands of the West Indies - 3:06
32. Ships of Legend - 2:02
33. Secrets of the Maya - 3:24
34. Life at Sea - 3:10

Sea Shanty Vol 1

1. Randy Dandy Oh - 1:35
2. Maid of Amsterdam - 1:41
3. Leave Her Johnny - 2:12
4. Whisky Johnny O' - 1:21
5. Good Morning Ladies - 1:39
6. Fish in the Sea - 1:29
7. Dead Horse - 1:07
8. Running Down to Cuba - 1:29
9. Trooper and the Maid - 1:57
10. William Taylor - 2:16
11. Patrick Spens - 1:52
12. Fathom the Bowl - 2:13
13. Admiral Benbow - 1:53
14. All For Me Grog - 2:06
15. Bulería - 2:06
16. Verdiales - 1:26

Sea Shanty Vol 2

1. Drunken Sailor - 1:30
2. Lowlands Away - 2:58
3. Padstow Farewell - 2:19
4. Goodbye, Fare-ye-well - 2:36
5. Roll, Boys, Roll! - 1:55
6. So Early in the Morning - 1:28
7. Where am I to Go, M'Johnnies - 1:24
8. 'Way Me Susianah - 1:18
9. Billy Riley - 1:15
10. Captain Kidd - 1:25
11. The Golden Vanity - 1:52
12. Blow Away the Morning Dew - 1:43
13. Here's a Health to the Company - 2:35
14. Down Among the Dead Men - 2:12
15. Over the Hills and Far Away - 2:04
16. Spanish Ladies - 2:45
17. Star of the County Down - 1:56
18. We Be Three Poor Mariners - 1:48
19. Captain Ward - 1:27
20. The Nightingale - 2:49
21. Maggie Lauder - 1:41
22. Fandango 01 - 1:27
23. Fandango 02 - 1:20
24. Jaberas - 1:54
25. Tientos - 2:35

Complete Edition

Although it was marketed as a "complete" soundtrack, the first 2 discs in this 3-disc set were actually the main soundtrack and volume 1 of the Sea Shanty Edition, respectively. The final disc consisted of 8 previously-unreleased tracks that featured in the Black Flag multiplayer missions, all written by English music duo The Flight, consisting of Joe Henson and Alexis Smith.

1. Saba Island - 3:37
2. Santa Lucia - 3:10
3. Tampa Bay - 3:19
4. Prison - 3:00
5. La Havana - 3:18
6. Portobelo - 3:45
7. Saint Pierre - 3:23
8. Palenque - 3:08

Behind the scenes

Despite its name, the Complete Edition excludes seventeen shanties and Sarah Greene's rendition of "The Parting Glass". According to Darby McDevitt, it was Cara Dillon's performance of the song which inspired him to incorporate it into the game.

The inclusion of "Star of the County Down" in Volume 2 of the Sea Shanty Edition is anachronistic to Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag's setting in the Golden Age of Piracy. The melody as it is known today comes from the traditional English song "Dives and Lazarus", a common tune in 19th-century Worcestershire possibly derived from an unknown 15th-century song, while the lyrics were likely written by Cathal MacGarvey from County Donegal, Scotland in the 20th century.

The tavern song version of “Spanish Ladies” which is featured in Volume 2 of the Sea Shanty Edition does not actually play in the game. In fact, it is not even present within the game files. Similarly, the full version of “Admiral Benbow” which is featured in Volume 1 of the Sea Shanty Edition does not play in the game, though the instrumental version does. The in-game version of “Patrick Spens” features an additional verse which was omitted from the official version included in Volume 1 of the Sea Shanty Edition.

A number of tavern songs are also not included in soundtracks. These include:

• As I Was Going to Banbury
• Barbara Allen
• Blow the Candles Out
• Henri Martin (instrumental)
• The Bay of Biscay-O (instrumental)
• The Bold Pedlar and Robin Hood
• The Parting Glass
• The Three Ravens
• Young Edwin in the Lowlands Low