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Though work songs have been sung since time immemorial, the shanty itself developed in the 19th Century, the golden days of the sailing ship. The word 'shanty' comes from the French word chanter, 'to sing', which is in turn derived from the Latin 'cantare'. Shanties were not allowed on ships of the British Royal Navy, as it was believed that they would adversely affect the crew's discipline. However, merchant ships had many shanties in use which the crew sung to make all kinds of work seem less arduous.

Format of the Shanty

Shanties are sung in a call-and-response fashion. A leader, or 'shantyman', sings out the verses, and the chorus or refrain is then echoed by the entire crew. The style is very rhythmic, and a word is usually emphasised in the refrain to indicate the point at which the crew should pull on the rope or do whatever needs to be done. Since there are a variety of specific shipboard tasks for which a shanty could be used, different styles of shanty have evolved, each with its own rhythm according to the necessity of the task.

Capstan Shanties

As the sailors walked around the capstan (kabestan, kołowrót) in order to raise or lower heavy sails or one of the ship's anchors, they would stamp their feet in time to a shanty sung out by the shantyman. Perhaps the most famous capstan shanty known to the general public is the 'Drunken Sailor':

Halyard Shanties

A halyard is a strong rope used to haul on a yard, the wooden extension of the mast to which sails were fastened. In a halyard shanty, to be sung while hauling on such a halyard, the crew rests while the shantyman sings the verse, and then they all haul on the chorus. Depending on how difficult the job was, the rhythm of the chorus could allow for between one and three pulls. A halyard shanty that appears fairly familiar is 'Blow the Man Down'. Note the strong accents in the chorus, when hauling should be occurring:

Pumping Shanties

Being objects essentially made out of wooden planks nailed together, the old sailing ships naturally leaked quite a bit. Pumps were located in the bilge (zęza) — the very bottom section of a ship — to drain out the water that collected there. This was an arduous task that necessarily had its own shanty to accompany it, like 'Santy Ano':