Maritime Work Songs

Although we do not sing for work on any H2O Captain excursion, Sea Shanties were sung in days gone by aboard large merchant sailing vessels by the laborers generally on British and other ships from Europe. The songs or shanties sung at sea starting in the mid 1850ies were to give assistance to synchronize and optimize the labor force.

Labor onboard these large ships usually required a coordinated group effort in either a pulling, pushing, hauling, or heaving action including weighing anchor, rowing, and setting sail. The music was a combination of folk songs, minstrel music, and marches.  

The shanty’s “trademark” was a call and response, performed between a soloist and the rest of the laborers in chorus. The leader, called the shantyman, was valued for his “spicy” language, combined with his strong voice. Shanties were sung A cappella and, historically, they were only sung only in work-based environments rather than entertainment-oriented events.  This is what distinguishes shanties from the other kinds of songs and ballads sailors might have sung in pubs and taverns while onshore.

The switch to steam-powered vessels and the use of machines for shipboard tasks, by the end of the 19th century, meant that shanties gradually ceased to serve a practical function. Their use as work songs became negligible in the first half of the 20th century.

Two of the most notable sea shanties that you may know or at least have heard of are: "Blow The Man Down" and "Drunken Sailor.”

Shanty can also be spelled, chanty or chantey.

Photo:  Saturday Night At Sea by George Cruikshank | Wikipedia | Public Domain