You may have heard, sea shanties have become all the rage lately. It apparently started as a viral video on Tik Tok and had since taken off around the world.
We probably all know a few sea shanties, living where we do. It is part of our history.
Apparently, the word shanty comes from chanty, or at least some think that could be where it comes from. Most of these songs started out as work songs on board sailing ships as a way of coordinating workers when doing strenuous tasks that required large numbers of people working together. The beat of the song would help get people all moving together t0 do things like raise anchors and sails or pull large nets aboard.
But new fangled inventions like the steam engine caused many of these songs to fade away. Until now. They are now cool again, thanks to the internet.
Many had made a bit of a comeback in the 50s and 60s as part of the folk revival. Because most are written in a call and response format, performers recognized them as a great way to get audiences singing along and involved in the show. Now they are making a comeback once again, mostly on line, but people are still singing along.
There were many different types of shanties, depending on the type of work they were meant to accompany, but most don’t have great lyrics. In fact, those that have actual lyrics that make sense are often thought of as sea songs rather than a shanty. And for those who might be thinking Barrett’s Privateers is a sea shanty, it probably would quite qualify. First, it was written fairly recently, so was never intended to be a work song on a sailing vessel. Second, it tells a story, which actually makes it closer to a ballad than a sea shanty.
But the tempo sort of fits, so we can sing it anyway. These days, sea shanties are much handier for raising a glass than a mainsail. All that talk of work can make a person thirsty.
