Well, I can speak from experience that as recently as the early '90s, "irish pennant" was still in use in the US Navy. I can't track the number of times I was called out for them during boot camp.

As to the dangers of bowdlerized shanties, I'm torn. IMHO, when you get down to it, it's the basic argument of preservation by any means over authenticity. Is it better that the shanties fade into obscurity, rather than let landsmen sing them?

I am all for preservation. Though I will admit that once they are taken from the sea, they lose most of their "shanty" feel and enter the realm of general folk songs.

M

"A sailor ain't a sailor ain't a sailor any more..."