Colcord, "Songs of American Sailormen," p.31,

"British merchant seamen were impressed into the naval service where no shantying was allowed..."

Lloyd, "Folk Song in England," p. 289,

"...East Indiamen sailed under naval discipline, with no singing allowed on deck..."

Terry, "The Shanty Book, Part I," p. (v),

Moreover - at least in the nineteenth century - they (shanties) were never used aboard men-o'- war, where all orders werere carr iedied out in silence to the pipe of the bosun's whistle."

Hugill, "Songs of the Sea," p.11,

"In the navies of the world, all work was done in time with numbers and with the bosun's call or pipe. Singing at work was taboo."

Need more proof?

- Tom