A sea shanty, chantey, or chanty is a genre of traditional folk song that was once commonly sung as a work song to accompany rhythmical labor aboard 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.
The Almanac Singers was an American New York City-based folk music group, active between 1940 and 1943, founded by Millard Lampell, Lee Hays, Pete Seeger, and Woody Guthrie. The group specialized in topical songs, mostly songs advocating an anti-war, anti-racism and pro-union philosophy. They were part of the Popular Front, an alliance of liberals and leftists, including the Communist Party USA, who had vowed to put aside their differences in order to fight fascism and promote racial and religious inclusiveness and workers' rights. The Almanac Singers felt strongly that songs could help achieve these goals.
Albert Lancaster Lloyd, usually known as A. L. Lloyd or Bert Lloyd, was an English folk singer and collector of folk songs, and as such was a key figure in the British folk revival of the 1950s and 1960s. While Lloyd is most widely known for his work with British folk music, he had a keen interest in the music of Spain, Latin America, Southeastern Europe and Australia. He recorded at least six discs of Australian Bush ballads and folk music.
Gavin Friday is an Irish singer and songwriter, composer, actor and painter, best known as a founding member of the post-punk group The Virgin Prunes.
Shannon Maureen McNally is an American singer and songwriter.
"Oh Shenandoah" is a traditional folk song, sung in the Americas, of uncertain origin, dating to the early 19th century.
"Bonny Portmore" is an Irish traditional folk song which laments the demise of Ireland's old oak forests, specifically the Great Oak of Portmore or the Portmore Ornament Tree, which fell in a windstorm in 1760 and was subsequently used for shipbuilding and other purposes.
"(The) Leaving of Liverpool", also known as "Fare Thee Well, My Own True Love", is a folk song. Folklorists classify it as a lyrical lament and it was also used as a sea shanty, especially at the capstan. It is very well known in Britain, Ireland, and America, despite the fact that it was collected only twice, from the Americans Richard Maitland and Captain Patrick Tayluer. It was collected from both singers by William Main Doerflinger, an American folk song collector particularly associated with sea songs in New York. The song's narrator laments his long sailing trip to California and the thought of leaving his loved ones, pledging to return to her one day.
"The Sweet Trinity", also known as "The Golden Vanity" or "The Golden Willow Tree", is an English folk song or sea shanty, listed as Child Ballad 286. The first surviving version, about 1635, was "Sir Walter Raleigh Sailing In The Lowlands ".
Rogue's Gallery: Pirate Ballads, Sea Songs and Chanteys is a compilation album of sea shanties produced by Hal Wilner. Songs are performed by artists representing a variety of genres, ranging from pop musicians like Sting, Bono, Jarvis Cocker, Lou Reed, Nick Cave and Bryan Ferry, to actors like John C. Reilly, to folk musicians like Richard Thompson, Loudon Wainwright III and Martin Carthy.
"Greenland Whale Fisheries" is a traditional sea song. This song originated in the West Indies. In most of the versions collected from oral sources, the song opens up giving a date for the events that it describes. However, the song is actually older than this and a form of it was published as a ballad before 1725. It has been given a Roud number of 347.
"Pirate Jenny" is a well-known song from The Threepenny Opera by Kurt Weill, with lyrics by Bertolt Brecht. The English lyrics are by Marc Blitzstein. It is probably the second most famous song in the opera, after "Mack the Knife".
John Roberts is an English musician residing in Schenectady, New York.
A sporting song is a folk song which celebrates fox hunting, horse racing, gambling and other recreations.
A rogues' gallery is a collection of images used by police to identify suspects.
This is the discography of the English singer-songwriter Ed Harcourt. To date, Harcourt has released six studio albums, two compilation albums, three EPs, and fourteen singles. Harcourt's debut album Here Be Monsters was released in June 2001, and peaked on the UK Albums Chart at No. 84. His second album From Every Sphere, released in February 2003, became his highest charting album at No. 39, and also features his highest charting single "All of Your Days Will Be Blessed". Released only one year later was his third album Strangers, which features the single "This One's for You", Harcourt's second-highest charting single at No. 41. Two further singles followed throughout the end of 2004 and 2005: "Born in the '70s" and "Loneliness". A download-only compilation entitled Elephant's Graveyard, collecting B-sides and rarities from 2000 to 2005, was issued in summer 2005. Harcourt's fourth studio album The Beautiful Lie was released in June 2006.
The "Coast of High Barbary" is a traditional song which was popular among British and American sailors. It is most frequently sung as a ballad but can also be a sea shanty. It tells of a sailing ship that came across a pirate ship off the Barbary Coast and defeated the pirates, who were left to drown.
Louisa "Lou" Jo Killen was an English folk singer from Gateshead, Tyneside, who also played the English concertina.
Son of Rogues Gallery: Pirate Ballads, Sea Songs & Chanteys is a compilation album of sea shanties and the follow-up to Rogue's Gallery: Pirate Ballads, Sea Songs, and Chanteys. The concept is the same as it was on the first album: artists representing a variety of genres perform cover versions of sea shanties. Performers include musicians like Tom Waits, Iggy Pop, Big Freedia, Patti Smith, Sean Lennon, Petra Haden, Dr. John, Nick Cave, Shane MacGowan, Macy Gray, Courtney Love, Michael Stipe, Keith Richards, and Frank Zappa, alongside actors like Johnny Depp, Angelica Huston, and Tim Robbins.
The Sea Chanters are a component unit of the United States Navy Band. Activated in 1956 by order of Admiral Arleigh Burke, the unit is a mixed chorus principally charged with "perpetuating songs of the sea".
