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. They were found mostly on British and other European ships, and some had roots in lore and legend. 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.
"Blaydon Races" is a Geordie folk song written in the 19th century by Geordie Ridley, in a style deriving from music hall. It is frequently sung by supporters of Newcastle United Football Club, Newcastle Falcons rugby club, and Durham County Cricket Club.
Tom Lewis is a British singer and writer of nautical songs.
"Drunken Sailor", also known as "What Shall We Do with a/the Drunken Sailor?", is a traditional sea shanty, listed as No. 322 in the Roud Folk Song Index. It was sung onboard sailing ships at least as early as the 1830s, and it shares its tune with the traditional Irish folk song "Óró sé do bheatha abhaile".
Johnny Collins was an English folk singer based in London, England, specializing in traditional maritime music and sea shanties.
Stanley James Hugill was a British folk music performer, artist and sea music historian, known as the "Last Working Shantyman" and described as the "20th century guardian of the tradition".
"Santianna", also known as "Santiana", "Santy Anna", "Santayana", "Santiano", "Santy Anno" and other variations, is a sea shanty referring to the Mexican General Antonio López de Santa Anna. The song is listed as number 207 in the Roud Folk Song Index.
"Maggie May" is a traditional Liverpool folk song about a prostitute who robbed a "homeward bounder": a sailor coming home from a round trip.
"South Australia" is a sea shanty, also known under such titles as "Rolling King" and "Bound for South Australia". As an original worksong it was sung in a variety of trades, including being used by the wool and later the wheat traders who worked the clipper ships between Australian ports and London. In adapted form, it is now a very popular song among folk music performers that is recorded by many artists and is present in many of today's song books.
The Young'uns are an English folk group from Stockton, County Durham, England, who won the BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards "Best Group" award in 2015 and 2016 and “Best Album” for Strangers in 2018. They specialise in singing unaccompanied, and they perform traditional shanties, contemporary songs such as Billy Bragg's "Between the Wars" and Sydney Carter's "John Ball", and original works including "You Won’t Find Me on Benefits Street" and "The Battle of Stockton". 2017 album Strangers includes nine new songs celebrating inspiring people 'A homage to the outsider; a eulogy for the wayfarer; a hymn for the migrant.' "These Hands" tells the life story of 1950's immigrant Sybil Phoenix while the story of the Battle of Cable Street is told through the words of Stockton teenager Johnny Longstaff. In February 2020 the band debuted the stage production 'The Ballad of Johnny Longstaff' at Newcastle's Northern Stage theatre to rave reviews.
Edward "Ned" Corvan was a Tyneside concert hall songwriter and performer, and a contemporary of George "Geordie" Ridley. His songs were printed in a modified English orthography designed to represent the traditional dialect of Tyneside in the middle of the 19th century, and are examples of Dialect Literature.
George "Geordie" Ridley was a Tyneside concert hall songwriter and performer in the middle of the 19th century. His most famous song is "Blaydon Races". He was a contemporary of Edward Corvan. He has been described by a council source as a candidate for Tyneside's most famous songwriter.
"Cushie Butterfield" is a famous Geordie folk song written in the 19th century by Geordie Ridley, in the style of the music hall popular in the day. It is regarded by many as the second unofficial anthem of Tyneside after Blaydon Races.
Rowland "Rowley" Harrison (1841–1897) was a Tyneside poet and singer/songwriter, from Gateshead in County Durham. Possibly his best known work is "Geordy Black", an example of Geordie dialect.
Charles Ernest Catcheside-Warrington (1859–1937) was an English Music hall artist and songwriter from the late 19th century who became a recording artist, record producer and a collector and arranger of "Geordie" songs.
"The Cullercoats Fish Lass" is a folk song, written by Edward Corvan, originally printed as a broadside in 1862 and collated in Allan's Illustrated Edition of Tyneside Songs and Readings in 1891.
The Longest Johns is a British folk musical group from Bristol, England, consisting of Andy Yates, Dave Robinson, Jonathan "JD" Darley, and Robbie Sattin. They are known for performing folk music and sea shanties in the English tradition, and they also compose and record their own music. They became famous for their rendition of the 1800s folk song "Wellerman", which went viral on TikTok in early 2021.
Nathan Evans is a Scottish singer from Airdrie, Scotland, known for singing sea shanties. Evans first gained fame in 2020, when he posted videos of himself singing sea shanties on social media service TikTok. In 2021, he released a dance remix of the 19th-century maritime song "Wellerman" which peaked at the top of the UK Singles Chart and also charted in several other countries.
"A Drop of Nelson's Blood" is a sea shanty, also known as "Roll the old chariot along" The origins are unclear but the title comes from the first line: A drop of Nelson's blood wouldn't do us any harm. Often described as a “walkaway” or “runaway chorus” or “stamp and go” sea chanty. The song features on the soundtrack of the 2019 film Fisherman's Friends. The chorus comes from the 19th century Salvation Army hymn, 'Roll the old chariot'. This song developed into a shanty.
