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A sea shanty, chantey, or chanty is a type of work song that was once commonly
sung to accompany labor on board large merchant and some naval sailing vessels.
In Lord Nelson's Navy shanties were banned and the work was accompanied
instead by calling out numbers or the rhythmic playing of a fiddle or fife.
The word "shanty" probably derives from the French chanter, "to sing" and
I prefer to use "chanty" though I may not be consistant.
If you are interested in a serious study of sea songs and chanties, the best reference I can give you is Stan Hugill's Shanties from the Seven Seas (1961), which has been reprinted as recently as 2014 by Mystic Seaport Museum in Mystic, Connecticut. It contains over 400 items with extensive historical notes. If you're curious but don't want to dive into a detailed analysis, the following is a brief introduction. The structures of the songs varied to suit the types of tasks necessary for the operation of the sailing vessels. They were usually sung without accompaniment and most had a call and response form where the mate in charge would sing a verse and the crew would respond with a chorus line as they pulled or turned or performed whatever action was required. Long-drag chanty (also called a "halyard chanty") Sung with the job of hauling on halyards to hoist, over an extended period, topsail or topgallant yards. Usually there are two pulls per chorus as in "Way, hey, Blow the man down!" Examples: "Hanging Johnny", "Whiskey Johnny", "A Long Time Ago" and "Blow the Man Down." Short-drag chanty (also called a "[fore/main]sheet chanty") Sung for short hauling jobs requiring a few bursts of great force, such as changing direction of sails via lines called braces, or hauling taut the corners of sails with sheets or tacks. These are characterized by one strong pull per chorus, typically on the last word, as in "Way, haul away, haul away Joe!" Examples: "Haul on the Bowline" and "Haul Away Joe". Sweating-up chanty (also called a "swaying off" chanty) Sung for very brief hauling tasks, as for a few sharp pulls or "swigs" on a halyard to gain maximum tautness of a sail. These short chants are often classed as "sing-outs," but their form differs little from sheet shanties. Examples include mostly chants that have not gone under any well-known name. Stamp and go chanty (also called a "run away" or "walk away" chanty) Although technically a hauling action, the work accompanied by this type of chanty was continuous in nature. Thus the songs had longer choruses, similar to heaving shanties. The work entailed many hands taking hold of a line with their backs to the "fall" (where the line reaches the deck from aloft) and marching away with it along the deck. Capstan chanty Raising the anchor on a ship involved winding its rope around a capstan, a sort of giant winch, turned by sailors heaving wooden bars while walking around it. Other heavy tasks might also be assisted by using a capstan. Being a continuous action, chanties sung to accompany these tasks might have longer solo verses and, frequently, a "grand chorus," in addition to the call-and-response form. Examples: "Santi Anno", "Rio Grande" and "Shenandoah". "Shanties" versus "sea songs" Chanties are work songs and were originally sung only for work. On ships where chanties were used for work, is was considered unlucky to sing the work songs when off watch. However, sailors also sang for pleasure in the fo'c's'le (forecastle) where they slept or, in fine weather, gathered near the fore bitts (large posts on the foredeck). While songs with maritime themes were sung, all manner of popular songs and ballads on any subject might be sung off watch. The leisure songs associated with sailors are labeled simply as "sea songs," but they have no consistent formal characteristics. |