By Austin Price, Editor in Chief
Music has always been a primary form of communication between humans. Whether it be in celebration or grief, reverence or rebellion, music has remained a constant form of shared communication between human beings. Music has been consistently proven to impact one’s psychological status and draw many emotions from our society. There are countless genres of music and variations of sound. Despite these innumerable styles of music, they all share one key characteristic. This characteristic is the authenticity and vulnerability of connecting many peoples. While we cannot attribute this characteristic to one genre, I would argue that there is one genre that is prominent and even vital in human connection and distribution of information. This genre is known as sea shanties.
According to Stephen Winick in an article for Library of Congress Blogs, sea shanties are defined as “work songs sung aboard ships and boats,”.
Sea shanties belong to the overarching genre of “work songs.” Work songs are a form of folk music described as one sung while performing physical labor. In understanding sea shanties, it is imperative to acknowledge the differences between work songs and occupational songs.
Occupational songs include work songs but also songs about work, as well as songs sung mostly within a particular working community. The key difference between occupational songs and work songs is that work songs must be sung while active labor is being performed. Winick states that “A song about the life of a sailor, written and performed by sailors, still isn’t technically a shanty unless it’s performed during work. Sailors referred to the songs they sang off-duty variously as foc’sle songs, forebitters, or off-watch songs, referencing the places and times when they would sing purely for recreation,”.
Singing for recreation is an activity in which our modern-day society still partakes in. It’s a standard way to pass the time, connect with one another, and investigate deeper meanings to life. While sailors often sang for recreation, their primary way of communal singing was to aid in their daily chores at sea. Sailors inhibit a unique form of song performance and collective vocals through their sea shanties. These sea shanties not only helped sailors get through the long hours of physical labor while staying alert and focused, but they also kept the ship running smoothly and safely, protecting the lives of all those aboard.
Coordinating vocals and tempo with the ship's inner workings were the most efficient way of sailing. Winick writes that “Sailing vessels during much of the age of sail were vast machines made primarily of wood, canvas, and rope. They required a lot of skill and coordination from the whole crew to operate. Tasks on board ship often required many men to pull on a rope or work a lever on a windlass at the same time, and shanties were used to coordinate these moves and improve the efficiency of the work,”.
Sea shanties allowed sailors to stay on time and to properly track the ship's status, ensuring safety for both the items and passengers on board. These seemingly silly and repetitive songs were the first line of defense against the cruel waters and raging storms of the sea.
In Richard Henry Dana’s work, Two Years Before the Mast, published in 1834, the official definition of sea shanties is “simple chants that had few words, all of which were simple, and repetitive,”. As the years have passed, lyrics, melodies, and song titles have become more intricate and complex. Despite these developments, the initial use behind sea shanties was to give sailors a baseline musical context that they could use to mimic their actions on ship.
Winick recognizes that shanties were primarily developed on commercial cargo vessels. He writes that “Naval sailors did not sing shanties; for one thing, it was considered bad for discipline. Also, naval ships carried comparatively huge numbers of men to work the guns and to fight, so there wasn’t such a need to maximize efficiency—there was always ample muscle power to work the ship. Whalers didn’t sing as many shanties as cargo-carrying sailors, either, for some of the same reasons—whaling ships carried mostly men to hunt whales, so there were usually extra hands for the work,”.
Sailors were forced to be adaptable and had to have quick, reliable reactions to unexpected events. Because of this, sailors invented a plethora of shanties to meet their needs on ship. With these musical developments, sailors had songs to match individual tasks and experiences while at sea, with original timing and undertones for each sub section of song.
There were several different general kinds of tasks that were done while singing shanties. The most well-known and basic division was between “hauling” shanties and “heaving” shanties.
“Hauling” shanties were used for changing the sail configuration or moving other parts of the ship by pulling on ropes. On the other hand, “heaving” shanties, were typically used for working machines like capstans, windlasses, and pumps. This division is based on the different methods of strength for each set of tasks. “Hauling” work needed individual coordinated bursts of strength. “Heaving” work needed sustained labor, supported by the entire crew.
Both parts of this central division included sub sections. “Hauling” shanties included short-haul or short-drag shanties. These sections were used for tasks that required a few coordinated pulls. Winick writes that another sub section of “hauling” shanties was stamp-and-go and walk-away shanties. He says, “Stamp-and-go or walk-away shanties were used for two main tasks: hauling on the weather-braces to tack the ship, and using a mysterious apparatus called a ‘Devil’s instrument’ to scrape barnacles and other accretions off the ship’s bottom,”.
The largest category of “hauling” shanties are the halyard shanties. Halyard shanties were used for setting sails on movable spars called “yards.” The ropes that hauled these yards were halyards and gave their name to the class of songs.
On the opposite side of the division are the “heaving” shanties. “Heaving” shanties were designed to accompany continuous sustained tasks such as pumping the ship dry, warping the ship into dock, and raising the anchor. “Heaving” shanties matched the pace and tone of the labor completed during their presence. Repetitive and simple lyrics matched the work of the labor performed.
While “hauling” shanties are seen as more grandiose and accentuated variations of song, “heaving” shanties are consistent and steady, giving sailors a strong example to follow when completing their work.
While sea shanties were utilized as entertainment for sailors, they primarily offered guided connection and instruction for the tasks on the ship. These songs directed the work to be done and allowed sailors to finish their tasks correctly and consistently, ensuring that in every voyage they embarked on, they had smooth sailing the rest of the way.