i've been wondering, when that little boy in POTC 3 sings Hoist the colours, what does it mean?
Yes, to hoist the colours means to raise the flags (which is what all the pirate lords do near the end of the film). But the song itself is actually the story of how Calipso is imprisioned. The first verse is: The king and his men stole the queen from her bed and bound her in her Bones. The seas be ours and by the powers where we will well roam. The King and his men being the Pirate King and Lords of the first Bretherin Court which Barbossa tells us is who first imprisioned Calipso (the queen in the song) in her body (bound in her bones). Which means they can roam the sea as they like since Calipso can't send maelstroms after them if she's imprisioned in human form. So, basically this song (being at the beginning of the film as it is), is setting the background for the storyline.
Well, to 'hoise the colours' was to raise the flag, and when a ship saw a pirate flag raise, all hell broke loose. The song itself is a cocksure song regarding them being pirates and being bad, never shall we die and all. On the ships, crew would sing songs to keep moral high and get work done that much faster. Much like now a days and mp3 players and radios. When they would sing a song like this, it would make everyone's pride go up, their moral go up, and work would be done.
