Sea Shanties - Song and the Sailor’s Life

Recently, through the power of social media, a sea shanty, “The Wellerman”, was thrust into popularity, landing at Number 1 on the Top 40s Chart and leading to TikTok challenges and radio plays.

It is interesting, that during a global pandemic where we’re cooped up indoors, we’ve come to love a sea shanty about the open seas and adventuring. Originally sung by merchants and sailors in the 19th century as “work songs” to pass the time or make the mundane sea life more bearable, sea shanties remained popular until around the 1920s, where more modern radio and media would have made it possible to spread interest to those who might not have gotten the opportunity to work aboard ships at the time. Therefore, in our current circumstances, it would make sense that we’ve made a full circle back in order to make our quarantined time pass a little quicker and brighter.

Jeff Shapiro, a sailor who is also a musician, has an affinity for sea shanties. He shared some of his expertise in this GAYC presentation at the club meeting in April 2016.

Click below to scroll through his presentation.