Sea Songs and Shanties Collection - Titles index page

A SEA SHANTY, SHANTIE, CHANTEY, OR CHANTY is a type of work song that was once commonly sung to accompany labor on board large merchant sailing vessels. The term shanty most accurately refers to a specific style of work song belonging to this historical repertoire. However, in recent, popular usage, the scope of its definition is sometimes expanded to admit a wider range of repertoire and characteristics, or to refer to a “maritime work song” in general. Of uncertain etymological origin, the word shanty emerged in the mid-19th century in reference to an appreciably distinct genre of work song, developed especially in American-style merchant vessels that had come to prominence in decades prior to the American Civil War. Shanty songs functioned to economize labor in what had then become larger vessels having smaller crews and operating on stricter schedules. The practice of singing shanties eventually became ubiquitous internationally and throughout the era of wind-driven packet and clipper ships. Shanties had antecedents in the working chants of British and other national maritime traditions. They were notably influenced by songs of African Americans, such as those sung whilst manually loading vessels with cotton in ports of the southern United States. Shanty repertoire borrowed from the contemporary popular music enjoyed by sailors, including minstrel music, popular marches, and land-based folk songs, which were adapted to suit musical forms matching the various labor tasks required to operate a sailing ship. Such tasks, which usually required a coordinated group effort in either a pulling or pushing action, included weighing anchor and setting sail. The shanty genre was typified by flexible lyrical forms, which in practice provided for much improvisation and the ability to lengthen or shorten a song to match the circumstances. Its hallmark was call and response, performed between a soloist and the rest of the workers in chorus. The leader, called the shantyman, was appreciated for his piquant language, lyrical wit, and strong voice. Shanties were sung without instrumental accompaniment and, historically speaking, they were only sung in work-based rather than entertainment-oriented contexts. Although most prominent in English, shanties have been created in or translated into other European languages. The switch to steam-powered ships 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. Information about shanties was preserved by veteran sailors and by folklorist song-collectors, and their written and audio-recorded work provided resources that would later support a revival in singing shanties as a land-based leisure activity. Commercial musical recordings, popular literature, and other media, especially since the 1920s, have inspired interest in shanties among land-folk. The modern performance contexts of these songs have affected their forms, their content, and the way they are understood as cultural and historical artifacts. Recent performances range from the “traditional” style of practitioners within a revival-oriented, maritime music scene, to the adoption of shanty repertoire by musicians in a variety of popular styles. (ref Wikipedia)

Other Sites With Sea songs:
Contemplator.com/sea/
Rendance.org/lyrics/sea_songs.php
Shanties and Sea Songs Library of Congress
Sea Songs and Shanties Pack efdss
Traditional Sea Shanties and Sea Songs (also on this site)

IMPORTANT

Many of the songs on this site are in the public domain or traditional categories, however this cannot be guaranteed, and should you wish to use them as a basis of a performance or for any non-personal study purpose you are advised to contact the copyright holders (where available, copyright info has been included with the song). These transcriptions are made by many different individuals from all over the world for their own research and instruction, and as such are liable to great variation in interpretation and opinion. They are being shared on this site for educational purposes only, please see our copyright page for more info.

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For Political song books and Sheet Music to buy check the
Sea Songs Collection at Sheet Music Plus

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A Captain Bold From Halifax A Hundred Years Ago A Hundred Years Is A Very Long Time A Is The Anchor That Holds A Bold Ship A Landlady Of France Loved An Officer Tis Said A Life On The Ocean Wave A Home On The Rolling Deep A Long Long Time And A Long Time Ago A Sailor From Dover From Dover He Came A Schooner Was Built On The Baltic A Wet Sheet And A Flowing Sea A Whalers Tale A Yankee Ship Comes Down The River Adieu My Fair Young Maidens Adieu Sweet Lovely Nancy Ten Thousand Times Adieu Al Twintig Jaar Vaar Ik Op De Zoute Plas Alabama All Things Are Quite Silent Each Mortal At Rest All Things We Have Ready And Nothing We Want And He Kissed Her On The Face And Its Three Score And Ten Andrew Rose The British Sailor Around Cape Horn Weve Got To Go As I Rovd Out One Evning Fair As I Strolled Out One Evening As I Walked Down The Broadway As I Was A Walkin Upon A Fine Day As I Was A Walking Down Wapping As I Was Walkin Down London Street As I Went A Walking One Evening So Rare As I Went Out One Evening As Ick Jung An Johren W�r As It Fell On A Holy Day At The Dawn Of The Morning Away And To The Westward Away Haul Away Barretts Privateers Behold Upon The Swelling Seas Ben Backstay Was Our Boatswain Blood Red Roses Blow The Man Down Blow The Wind Westerly Bold Riley Boney Was A Warrior Brother Noah Bully In The Alley Cape Cod Girls They Have No Combs Cape Cod Girls Captain Kidd Come All My Jolly Seamen Likewise You Landsmen Too Come All Ye Jolly Sailors Brave Come All Ye Seamen Bold And Draw Near Come All Ye Young Fellows That Follow The Sea Come All Ye Young Men Of Learning Come All You Bold Fishermen Come All You Bold Heroes That Plough The Rough Main Come All You Dry Land Sailors And Listen To Me Song Come All You True Born Shanty Boys Come All You Warlike Seamen Come All You Young Americans Come Cheer Up My Lads Come Messmates Pass The Bottle Round Common Sailors Cura�ao K Heb Jou Zo Menigmaal Bekeken Daar Was Laatst Een Meisje Loos Daeth Diwrnod I Ffarwelio De Beste En Maar Braafste Matroos Aan Boord Den Stolte Skute Seiler Diesel And Shale Dis Is De Day We Make Our Pay Day Dont Forget Your Old Shipmate Dont Mind The Rain Or The Rolling Sea Drunken Sailor En Toen Was Er Dat Kind Essiquibo River Is The King Of Rivers All Essiquibo River Eternal Father Strong To Save Farewell And Adieu To You Spanish Ladies Farewell My Dearest Nancy Farewell To Tarwathie Adieu Mormond Hill Farewell To You My Own True Love Fifteen Men On A Dead Mans Chest Yo Ho Ho And A Bottle Of Rum For Once I Joined A Liverpool Ship From Boston Harbor We Set Sail From Liverpool To Frisco A Rovin I Went From The Halls Of Montezuma Full Many A Sailor Points With Pride General Taylor Gained The Day General Taylor Good Bye Fare Thee Well Good Night Ladies Goodbye My Feleni O Le A Ou Lea Grey Funnel Line Gwynt Or De Ar Glaw Yn Fan Haul Away Joe Haul On The Bolin The Fore And The Maintop Have You Heard Of A Ship Called The Good Reuben James Have You Heard The News My Johnny He Kapitein We Nemen Nog Een Borrel Heave Away Me Bully Boys Heave Away Hem Till Justina Hem Till De Mina Here A Sheer Hulk Lies Poor Tom Bowline Heres Adieu Sweet Lovely Nancy Heurt Mol To All Kinnersl�d Hieland Laddie High Barbary Homeward Bound How Can My Poor Heart Be Glad How Pleasant A Sailors Life Passes I Used To Be A Sailor I Sailed Upon The Sea I Am A Brisk And Sprightly Lad I Am A Young Sailor My Story Is Sad I Am As Poor A Distressed Maid I Came Down To Bowery One Evening In July I Come From Salem City I Dreamed My Love Came In My Sleep I Heard I Heard The Old Man Say I Neber See De Like Since I Been Born I Shipped On Board Of Th Ebenezer I Sing Of A Frigate A Frigate Of Fame I Was Broke And Out Of A Job In The City Of London If You Want To Join A Merchant Ship Ik Kwam Lest Over Een Berg Gegaan Ik Moest Van Vader Naar De Zee Im The Man Before The Mast In Amsterdam There Dwells A Maid In Callao There Lives A Gal Whose Name Is Serafina In May Of Nineteen Forty One The War Had Just Begun In South Australia I Was Born It Oftttimes Has Been Told It Was Down In Yonder Meadow It Was Early Early All In The Spring It Was Friday Morn When We Set Sail It Was In The Year Of Forty Four Its A Damned Tough Life Full Of Toil And Strife Its Of A Pretty Fair Maid Its Our Time To Go Now John Cherokee 2 John Cherokee Was An Indian Man John Cherokee John Kanaka Juliana Leave Her Johnny Legend Lift Him Up And Carry Him Along Liverpool Judies Lowlands Me Father Was The Keeper Of The Eddystone Light Melbourne Girls They Have No Combs My Boats By The Tower My Bonny Is Over The Ocean My Johnny Is A Shoemaker My Name Is Arthur Hollandin As You May Understand My Name Was William Kidd Now Jack Was A Sailor Who Roamed On The Town Now The Cheasapeake So Bold

O Come List Awhile And You Soon Shall Hear O Do My Johnny Boker O Fare You Well I Wish You Well O Fare You Well My Own True Love O Im Going To Leave Her O In Eighteen Hundred And Forty One O Me Rosie Coal Black Rose O Nancy Dawson Hio O Poor Old Reuben Ranzo O Sally Brown Of New York City O Santa Anna Fought For Fame O Shenandoah I Long To Hear You O Stormys Gone That Good Old Man O The Times Are Hard And The Wages Low O The Work Was Hard And The Wages Low O The Year Was Seventenn Seventy Eight O There Was A Lofty Ship And A Lofty Ship Was She O Tommys Gone What Shall I Do O Were Going On Board The Roseabella O Whiskey Is The Life Of Man Of All The Wives Eer You Know Oh A Drop Of Nelsons Blood Wouldnt Do Us Any Harm Oh Across The Westard I Served My Time Oh Blow My Boys I Long To Hear You Oh Go Fetch Me Down My Riding Cane Oh Mit Mein Niggerum Beggerum Stinkum Oh My Boat Can Swiftly Float Oh The Smartest Packet Ye Can Find Oh Was You Ever On The Congo River Oh Where Am I Goin To Sleep Tonight On The 23rd Of February On The Fourteenth Of February We Sailed From The Land On The Noble Fleet Of Whalers Out Sailing From Dundee On The Sunday Morning Just At The Hour Of Ten One More Day One Morning Very Early Op Wieringen Daar Woonde Our Anchors Aweigh And Our Sails Are All Set Our Topsails Reefd And Filled Away Pipe All Hands To Man The Windlass Poor Joe The Marine Was At Portsmouth Well Known Rejs Opp En Man Av Den Babordska Vakten Roll Alabama Roll Roll The Old Chariot Along Roll The Woodpile Down Rollin Down To Old Maui Rolling Home Sail Home As Straight As An Arrow Sailing Over The Dogger Bank Sally Shem The Gal That I Love Dearly Sally Santayana Schipper Ik Wil Varen Schipper Ik Wil Mee Shallow Brown Shoals O Herrin 2 Shoals Of Herring Sing And Heave And Heave And Sing Sing Ho For A Brave An A Gallant Ship Singing Bell Bottom Trousers Snaefell Tynwald Ben My Chree Snap The Line Tight South Australia Spanish Ladies Stand Navy Down The Field Stand To Your Guns My Hearts Of Oak Strike The Bell Sugar In The Hold Tarry Trousers The Anchor Is Weighed And The Sails They Are Set The Banks Of Newfoundland The Black Ball Line The Boats Are Sailing Around The Bend The Breeze Was Fresh The Ship Was In Stays The Dames Of France Are Fond And Free The Day That I Left My Home For The Rolling Sea The Dead Horse Shanty The Diamond Is A Ship Me Lads The Hog Eye Man The Im Alone The Island Lass The Last Shanty The Legend Lives On From The Chippewa On Down The Mate Was Drunk And He Went Below The Mermaid 2 The Mermaid Song The Mingalay Boat Song The Most Chivalrous Fish In The Ocean The Ocean Ranger The Pilot He Looked Out Ahead The Pilot He Looks Out Ahead The Rio Grande The Sailors Alphabet The Sea Is Englands Glory The Seagulls Still Follow On Freedom The Sons Of The Prophet Are Brave Men And Bold The Topman And The Afterguard Were Walking One Day The Wild Goose Shanty The Yankee Sails Tonight The Yankee Ship There Is Fire In The Lower Hold There Were Three Brothers In Merry Scotland There Were Two Lofty Ships Theres A Flash Packet A Flash Packet Of Fame They Call Me Hanging Johnny They Say Old Man Your Horse Will Die This Dirty Town Has Been My Home Tis Advertised In Boston Tis Of A Noblemans Daughter Tis Of A Stately Southerner Who Flew The Stripes And Stars To My Aye And Well Furl To Pensacola Town Well Bid Adieu Toms Gone To Hilo Trim Rigged Doxy True Sailor Boy Twas In Eighteen Hundred And Fifty Three Twas On A Dark And Stormy Night Twas On A Monday Morning All In The Month Of May Twas Pleasant And Delightful One Midsummers Morn Up Aloft Amid The Rigging Up Jumps A Crab With His Crooked Legs Up On The Poop Deck And Walking About Vinden Drar Skeppet Far Was You Ever In Quebec Was You Ever In Rio Grande Wave Over Wave Way Down South Where The Cocks Do Crow We Be Three Poor Mariners We Were Forty Miles From Albany Well Its All For Me Grog Me Jolly Jolly Grog Were Laying In Surrey Dock One Day West Zuid West Van Ameland What Pen Can Well Report The Plight What Shall We Do With A Drunken Sailor When First I Landed In Frisco Bay When Hms Hood Went Down In The Deep When I First Landed In Liverpool When I Was A Lad I Served A Term When The Alabamas Keel Was Laid When The Anchors Weighd And The Ships Unmoored Where The Coho Flash Silver Whiskey Johnny 2 Whiskey O Who Seeks The Way To Win Renown Wholl Make His Mark The Captain Cried Whos That Knocking At My Door Whup Jamboree Wie Wil Er Mee Naar Wieringen Varen Willy Taylor With Swelling Sail Away Away Ye Gentlemen Of England Who Live Home Ye Mariners All As Ye Pass By Ye Mariners All Ye Parliament Of England Ye Seamen And Ye Landsmen All Yheave Ho My Lads The Wind Blows Free Yo No Digo Que Mi Barca Se A You Bully Boys Of Liverpool Zondagmorgen Kregen We De Loods Aan Boord

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