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 Clancy Brothers were an influential Irish folk music group that developed initially as a part of the American folk music revival. Most popular during the 1960s, they were famed for their Aran jumpers and are widely credited with popularising Irish traditional music in the United States and revitalising it in Ireland, contributing to an Irish folk boom with groups like the Dubliners and the Wolfe Tones.
Patrick Michael Clancy, usually called Paddy Clancy or Pat Clancy, was an Irish folk singer best known as a member of the Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem. In addition to singing and storytelling, Clancy played the harmonica with the group, which is widely credited with popularizing Irish traditional music in the United States and revitalizing it in Ireland. He also started and ran the folk music label Tradition Records, which recorded many of the key figures of the American folk music revival.
Liam Clancy was an Irish folk singer from Carrick-on-Suir, County Tipperary. He was the youngest member of the influential folk group the Clancy Brothers, regarded as Ireland's first pop stars. They achieved global sales of millions and appeared in sold-out concerts at such prominent venues as Carnegie Hall and the Royal Albert Hall.
"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.
"Mrs. McGrath" is an Irish folk song set during the Peninsular War of the early 19th century. The song tells the story of a woman whose son enters the British Army and returns seven years later having lost his legs to a cannonball while fighting against Napoleon presumably at the Battle of Fuentes de Oñoro. The general theme of the song is one of opposition to war. Along with "Johnny I Hardly Knew Ye", it is one of the most graphic of all Irish folk songs that deal with sickness and injuries caused by warfare. Irish folk song collector Colm Ó Lochlainn described "Mrs. Grath" as "known to every true born citizen of Dublin". It was very popular among the Irish Volunteers in the years leading up to the 1916 Rising and has been recorded by many singers and folk groups.
"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.
Makem and Clancy was an Irish folk duo popular in the 1970s and 1980s. The group consisted of Tommy Makem and Liam Clancy, who had originally achieved fame as a part of the trailblazing folk group The Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem in the 1960s. Makem and Clancy sang a combination of traditional Irish music, folks songs from a variety of countries, and newly written pieces, including compositions that Tommy Makem himself wrote. One reporter described their music as "more polished and varied than that used by the Clancy Brothers."
The Rising of the Moon: Irish Songs of Rebellion is a collection of traditional Irish folk songs performed by The Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem. It was the group's first album and was initially recorded in 1956. For the original recording, the only instrument used was Paddy Clancy's harmonica, since Tommy Makem had damaged his hand and Liam Clancy was still learning how to play the guitar. The group had yet to develop its distinctive musical sound, so there was little ensemble singing.
Sarah Makem a native of Keady, County Armagh, Northern Ireland, was a traditional Irish singer. She was the wife of fiddler Peter Makem, mother of musicians Tommy Makem and Jack Makem, and grandmother of musicians Tom Sweeney, Jimmy Sweeney, Shane Makem, Conor Makem and Rory Makem. Sarah Makem and her cousin, Annie Jane Kelly, were members of the Singing Greenes of Keady.
"I'll Tell Me Ma" is a traditional children's song. It was collected in various parts of the United Kingdom in the 19th century and again appears in collections from shortly after the turn of the 20th century. In Ireland, especially within Ulster, the chorus usually refers to Belfast city and is known colloquially as "The Belle of Belfast City", although it is also adapted to other Irish cities, such as Dublin. Other versions refer to the "Golden City" or "London City". This song is Roud Folk Song Index number 2649.
The Lark in the Morning is an album by Liam Clancy, Tommy Makem, family and friends.
"Poor Paddy Works on the Railway" is a popular Irish folk and American folk song. Historically, it was often sung as a sea shanty. The song portrays an Irish worker working on a railroad.
The First Hurrah! is a collection of traditional Irish folk songs performed by The Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem. It was their fifth album for Columbia Records and was released in 1964. The album's title is likely a play on Edwin O'Connor's 1956 novel The Last Hurrah. The original LP featured liner notes by critic Robert Sherman. The album appeared on the Billboard charts and its single, "The Leaving of Liverpool," on the Irish Top 10 charts.
The Lowlands of Holland is a Scottish folk song in which a young woman sings about her husband, who was conscripted or "pressed" by the English into an Anglo-Dutch conflict in Europe or the West Indies. In 1741 James Oswald published "Collection of Curious Scots Tunes", containing "Low Lands of Holland". This was without any words, but a broadside sheet, dated to 1776 is in the British Library. It is the 21st catalogue entry under "Lowlands of Holland". Versions of the song exist in Ireland, Scotland and at times England, and several variants of the lyrics exist. The song variously describes the young man's conscription, the woman's grief at his death and her refusal to adorn herself or marry again, and sometimes a verse where the woman's mother advises her to find a new partner, or an account of the man's ship sinking.
"The Butcher’s Boy" or "The Butcher Boy" is an American folk song derived from traditional English ballads. Folklorists of the early 20th century considered it to be a conglomeration of several English broadside ballads, tracing its stanzas to "Sheffield Park", "The Squire's Daughter", "A Brisk Young Soldier", "A Brisk Young Sailor" and "Sweet William " and "Died for Love".
The Old Orange Flute is a folk song originating in Ireland. It is often associated with the Orange Order. Despite this, its humour ensured a certain amount of cross-community appeal, especially in the period before the commencement of The Troubles in the late 1960s, and it has also been recorded by artists better-known for songs associated with Irish nationalism, such as The Clancy Brothers & Tommy Makem and The Dubliners.
Recorded Live in Ireland is a 1965 album of Irish folk songs performed by The Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem. It was the first live album to be recorded in stereo in Ireland. It was their sixth LP for Columbia Records and, unusually for the group, included two newly composed songs in the folk style. Music critic Joe Goldberg wrote the liner notes.
William Main Doerflinger, was a book editor, stage magician, author, and noted American folk song collector, with a particular interest in maritime songs.
"Heave Away" is a traditional sea shanty, with origins unknown.
