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- This article is about the idiom, see Davy Jones (Pirates of the Caribbean) for the Disney villain.
Davy Jones' Locker is an idiom for the bottom of the sea — the resting place of drowned seamen. It is used as a euphemism for death at sea (e.g. to be "sent to Davy Jones' Locker"); Davy Jones is a nickname (used primarily by sailors) for what would be the devil of the seas. His origins are unclear, and many theories have been put forth, including incompetent sailors, a pub owner who kidnapped sailors, or that Davy Jones is another name for the devil.
The story's reputation has been widespread among sailors since its popularization, and nautical traditions have been created around him. He is also very popular in the broader culture, with references to him in various forms of media, most recently in his depiction in Dead Man's Chest.
Origin
Etymology
Davy may come from Duppy, a West Indian term for a malevalent ghost, or from Saint David, also known as Dewi, the patron saint of Wales, while Jones comes from the prophet Jonah, and whose story is considered bad luck for sailors.Literature
Daniel Defoe mentions the phrase in his 1726 book "The Four Years Voyages of Capt. George Roberts": "Heaving the rest into David Jones's locker, i.e. the sea." It appears not to have yet taken on the later connotations of misfortune.The earliest known reference to Davy Jones occurs in The Adventures of Peregrine Pickle by Tobias Smollett, published in 1751:
- This same Davy Jones, according to sailors, is the fiend that presides over all the evil spirits of the deep, and is often seen in various shapes, perching among the rigging on the eve of hurricanes, ship-wrecks, and other disasters to which sea-faring life is exposed, warning the devoted wretch of death and woe.
He is described in the same story as having saucer eyes, three rows of teeth, horns, a tail, and blue smoke coming from his nostrils.
In 1824, Washington Irving mentions Jones' name in his "Adventures of the Black Fisherman.":
- He came, said he, in a storm, and he went in a storm; he came in the night, and he went in the night; he came nobody knows whence, and he has gone nobody knows where. For aught I know he has gone to sea once more on his chest, and may land to bother some people on the other side of the world; though it's a thousand pities, added he, if he has gone to Davy Jones's locker.
Theories
As is common with slang, the exact origin of "Davy Jones" is hard to discover. These explanations have been proposed:- Many sources have cited the British pub owner who is referenced in the 1594 song "Jones's Ale is Newe." He may be the same pub owner who supposedly threw drunken sailors into his ale locker and then dumped them onto any passing ship.
- Duffer Jones, a notoriously myopic sailor who often found himself overboard.
- Some believe it came from Welsh sailors who would call upon Saint David for protection in times of mortal danger.
- David Jones, a pirate on the Indian Ocean in the 1630s. Most scholars agree, however, he was not famous enough to gain such lasting global fame.
- Some think it is just another name for the devil. Some call him Deva, Davy or Taffy, the thief of the evil spirit.
- Some think Jonah became the "evil angel" of all sailors. The Christian sailor's body goes to Davy Jones's locker, but his soul, if he is a good sailorman, goes to Fiddler's Green.
Reputation
Jones' reputation causes fear among sailors, and many refuse to discuss Davy Jones in any great detail.Not all traditions dealing with Davy Jones are fearful. In traditions associated with sailors crossing the Equatorial line, there was a "raucous and rowdy" initiation presided over by those who had crossed the line before, known as shellbacks, or Sons of Neptune. The eldest shellback was called King Neptune, and the next eldest was his assistant and was called Davy Jones.
In Popular Culture
Movies
Davy Jones is the main villain in the film Dead Man's Chest (2006), played by Bill Nighy. He appears along with his crew of half-human, half-sea creature sailors aboard The Flying Dutchman. He is portrayed as a mutated cross between a man and an octopus, with a wriggling beard of tentacles, along with two crustacean-esque limbs, similar to Cthulhu from the mythos created by HP Lovecraft. His character seems to be a sea-bound version of the Devil because he deals in souls, as is common in Devil mythology. In return for their life, they serve him for 100 years.
Television
In SpongeBob SquarePants, in one episode, the Flying Dutchman threatens to send Mr. Krabs to Davy Jones' locker, which is full of smelly gym socks.In the Anime and Manga series One Piece, Davy Jones is mentioned as being the inspiration for the Davy Back Fight. The Davy Back Fight is a pirates game where crews of pirates play games, the winners of which can take crew members from the opposing team. The number of games are chosen based on a coin system, meaning you can have either a 1-coin, 2-coin, or 3-coin game. After the selection, the coins are thrown into the ocean, supposedly payment to Davy Jones
Davy Jones is also referenced many times in the television series Rocko's Modern Life
Video Games
In the videogame Banjo-Tooie, in the fourth world the boss (a giant anglerfish called Lord Woo Fak Fak) is inside a locker that says: "D. Jones". The other lockers, incidentally, bear the names of the game's producers.In the beginning of the PC Game The Curse of Monkey Island, the wanna-be pirate Wally describes his toughness by saying "I'm so tough, that in junior high I stuffed Davy Jones in his locker!"
In the computer game "Blood Money" (developed by DMA Design, published by Psygnosis in 1989), the shops in the under water level bear a sign that says "Davy Jones Equipment Locker".
Jonathan Jones is a character from the game Super Mario RPG, who is likely a reference to Davy Jones.
Music
- In the song "Dodo" by Genesis, the lyrics read "Will the siren team with Davy Jones,
- In the song "Run Silent Run Deep", by Iron Maiden, there is the sentence "The tar black smell of burning oil all the way down to Davy Jones".
- In the song "The Irish Ballad", by Tom Lehrer, a girl, among other crimes, "weighted her brother down with stones and sent him off to Davy Jones".
- In the song "Rhymin' and Stealin'" by the Beastie Boys there is a line "Deliver Colonel Sanders down to Davy Jones' locker".
- The United States Navy's anthem, "Anchors Aweigh," has the line: "Sail on to victory, and sink their bones to Davey Jones, Hooray!"
- On the album "The Power of Seven by the ambient techno group System 7 there is a song called "Davy Jones' Locker."
- On their self-titled album, Clutch has the song "Big News I" which ends with a back-masking of the lyric "Them bones, them bones, them dry, dry bones, Come down to the locker of Davy Jones"
In the book "Quicksilver" of "The Baroque Cycle," by Neal Stephenson, many references are made to "David Jones's Locker."
Games
In the constructible strategy game Pirates of the Spanish Main, Davy Jones appears as a unique crew for the Cursed faction, and his flagship is the Flying Dutchman.References
"Davy Jones' Locker"