Sea Shanties: Songs from the Sea 

In 1937, Snow White exhorted her animal friends to whistle while they worked: “It won’t take long when there’s a song to help you set the pace.” The Seven Dwarves (ever eager to please) took her advice, too, and whistled and sang all the way to the diamond mines. A good approach to get you through the never-ending pile of laundry at home or the drudgery of whacking at rocks in a dark hole (or cubicle). 

Of course, the notion of singing while working began LONG before Walt Disney. 

In the 1800s, fishermen all along the coast of the UK, from the Scottish Highlands to Cornwall, sang while they worked to “motivate and speed up work onboard large ships, usually Big Clippers, often crossing the Atlantic” (Cornwall Discovered). These working songs became known as Sea Shanties and even today are an integral part of Cornish culture. 

What is a sea shanty? The short answer: A “traditional genre of the folk song sang on the ocean….Commonly, the shanty has what is known as ‘The Shanty Man’ - who would make the melodic shout, and the sailors would respond in verse, whilst undertaking the task the Shanty Man asked, such as heaving on the lines” (Cornwall Discovered).  

Where can you find a sea shanty group? In practically every corner of Cornwall. “It's not unusual to sit in a crooked pub in a windswept Cornish cove on a Friday evening, and in will walk the local sea shanty singing group, often consisting of the local fishermen. Their sound will be unmistakably sea shanty, and you will be foot-tapping in minutes. It doesn't get much more Cornish than that!” (Cornwall Discovered).  

And if you’re in Cornwall in June, you can enjoy the mother lode: The Falmouth International Sea Shanty Festival (where you will find us and several thousand other foot-stomping fans in just a few weeks!). 

So there you have it. Here’s a small sea shanty sample for you to enjoy, and if you want more, join us for an amazing 2023 AYLIT trip to “Cornwall My Home.” 

For More on Sea Shanties 

Watch: Fisherman’s Friends, 2019 British movie based on a true story about a group of Cornish fishermen from Port Isaac who were signed by Universal Records and achieved a top 10 hit with their debut album of traditional sea shanties.  

Listen: 

Read: “Cruising: The Year of the Sea Shanty”—Everything you need to know about the latest musical trend from Lydia Mullan.