About Sea Shanties
Why do we like Sea Shanties?
Shanties were sung by those sailing the seas before the era of steam-powered ships, mostly associated with the 19th century.
They are simple songs with a strong rhythm, which makes them catchy and memorable. They are really easy to sing, spanning a small vocal range and focusing on rhythm, meaning you don’t have to be a great singer to make it sound good.
Shanties were sung to help with the manual tasks on ship – pulling (hauling), pushing (heaving), and pumping. The different tasks were matched with different style of songs.
Short drag (short haul) shanties were for tasks that required short bursts of energy and a quick pull as when unfurling or shortening a sail.
Example: Haul Away Joe
Long drag or halyard shanties have a pull-and-relax rhythm for jobs such as hoisting sail. This type of shanty has a chorus at the end of each line. Example: – Blow the Man Down.
Capstan shanties were primarily to relieve boredom and promote morale – with the crew trudging round and round in step, continually pushing the capstan bars to wind up the anchor chain. Example – Drunken Sailor.
All wooden ships leak – and it’s much worse in stormy seas. Lifting the water from the bilges (the lowest part of the ship) was gruelling work so singing a pump shanties kept up the sailors’ spirits. Example – Rio Grande.
When the work was done, then the off-watch crew enjoyed forebitters, also known as forecastle (fo'c'sle) songs. These are ballads of home, adventure, misadventure, love and loss, and humour. Example: Old Maui.