One Piece Theme (4Kids)

The One Piece Rap, also known as the Gum-Gum Rap or the Pirate Rap, is the introduction used by 4Kids in their dub of One Piece. It is sung by Russell Velasquez.

Following much hype from the showing of a English version of We Are, after winning the rights to dub the series 4Kids choose to drop "We Are" for this instead. The song itself used cut and pasted scenes from "We Are!" as well as the series itself. The musical score was also reused for the outro to the series as well as the introduction.

The reaction to the One Piece Rap has always been mixed. While it was praised for being an alternative to the Japanese pop introductions used by the original version, it was downrated due to its lyrics. A version prior to the release of the 4Kids dub had an infamous line about Zoro saying that "he's a samurai", but it was changed prior to the premiere. As crew members joined the Straw Hat Pirates, the lyrics were revised to add the new characters making the song sound awkward and rushed at time. Further criticism was pulled into question over why it was continued to be used over the original Japanese songs or another alternative song. There is rumored to have been a final version, which included Robin, but it did not air as 4Kids' license expired.

A version of this song was also used for the English version of the game Grand Battle. This version having slightly different lyrics; it did not include any of Luffy's crew in the lyrics. This song originally appeared on the old 4Kids corporate site at 4KidsEntertainment.com

Lyrics
YO-ya-yo, ya-yo

Dreamin', don't give it up Luffy Dreamin', don't give it up Zolo Dreamin', don't give it up Nami Dreamin', don't give it give it up give it up give it up give it up give it NO!

Here's how the story goes we find out About a Treasure in the Grand Line Theres no doubt, The pirate who's eye on it He'll sing I'll be King of the Pirates I'm gonna be king

Ya-yo, ya-yo ya-yo, ho-ho

His name is Luffy That's Monkey D. Luffy Gonna be king of the pirates! He's made of rubber - (female singers) how did that happen? Yo-ho-ho he took a bite of Gum Gum

Ya-yo, ya-yo

His name's Zolo, He's just like a samurai And a L-A-D-Y Nami's not shy The pirate crew coming through, doin' their thing, With the king of the pirates, he's gonna be king!

Ya-yo, ya-yo, yao-yo, hoo-hoo

Set sail for One Piece, it's the name of the treasure in the Grand Line!

Ya-yo, ya-yo

Set sail for One Piece!

Alternate version
YO-ya-yo, ya-yo

Dreamin', don't give it up Luffy Dreamin', don't give it up Zolo Dreamin', don't give it up Nami Dreamin', don't give it give it up give it up give it up give it up give it NO!

Here's how the story goes we find out About a Treasure in the Grand Line Theres no doubt, The pirate who's eye on it He'll sing, "I'll be King, I'll-I'll be Pirate King"

Ya-yo, ya-yo ya-yo, ho-ho

His name is Luffy That's Monkey D. Luffy Gonna be king of the pirates! He's made of rubber - (female singers) how did that happen? Yo-ho-ho he took a bite of Gum-Gum

Ya-yo, ya-yo

His name's Zolo, He's a samurai And a L-A-D-Y Nami's so sly The pirate crew coming through, doin' their thing, With the king, with the king, gonna be Pirate King!

Ya-yo, ya-yo, yao-yo, hoo-hoo

Set sail for One Piece, it's the name of the treasure in the Grand Line!

Ya-yo, ya-yo

Set sail for One Piece!

Revisited 1
His name's Zolo he's just like a samurai

and a l-a-d-y Nami's not shy

Usopps' doin that marksman thing

And Sanji's cooking for the would-be king!

Revisited 2
His name's Zolo he's just like a samurai and a l-a-d-y Nami's not shy Usopps' doin' that marksman thing Sanji's cookin' Chopper's doctoring

Trivia

 * Editing inconsistencies can be seen when it shows Hawk-Eye Mihawk; in the dub, the hilt of his blade was changed to look less cross-like, but in this opening Mihawk's blade is unedited.
 * Also when the verse says "The pirate whose eye on it, he'll sing / 'I'll be King of the Pirates, I'm gonna be King!'" of the 3 villains shown, only Don Krieg had even tried to be King of the Pirates.