All orders to work "evolutions" at sea onboard Royal Navy ships was by bosun's call, i.e. sharp piercing notes in sequences that could be heard through the sound of gunfire. Locally any requirement to heave or pull sharply of rope and tackle was always to the order "2, 6 Heave", that even held good in my day in the Navy, numbers 2 and 6 of a guns crew were those who were responsible for running the gun out once it had been re-loaded, they were stationed on the ends of the run out tackle ropes and the rest of the guns crew paired off to assist them in the task, the gun captain calling out the order "2, 6, Heave".

Only songs sung onboard Royal Naval Ships were forebiters (non-working songs) not shanties (Working Songs).