Sea Shantys

Sea Shanty – ‘Farewell and Adieu’
This was a capstan shanty sung on homeward bound journeys. The lines “we’ll rant and we’ll roar like true British sailors, we’ll rant and we’ll roar along the salt seas,” might as well have been a battle cry. The verse “we’ll drink and be jolly and drown melancholy,” perfectly describes the sailor’s recipe for a bad mood.

‘The Sailors Hornpipe’ – ‘Rule Britannia’ (from the Last Night at the Proms)
Although not technically a Sea Shanty – the graphics and music make this clip good viewing.

One of the most popular shanties was ‘Bound for South Australia’. The prospect of arriving off our coast is enough to make anyone break out in song. This is the Clipper ‘Stad Amsterdam”