As maritime work song:
“One of the most exciting scenes I ever witnessed was the heaving-up of the anchor, each link of the chain attached weighing over seventy pounds; and nothing could give a better conception of the size of the vessel than the power required in performing that operation. Round the capstan revolved sixty men, with a like number in each of the two lower decks, whose combined efforts were unavailing at times to stir the anchor, in spite of the animated exhortations of Mr. Halpin, the chief officer, and the lively strains of a young fiddler, who, perched on the capstan, played such music as sailors love to hear. At the first sound, however, of the tune, “Slap bang, here we are again!” the men made a determined effort, and, all joining in the lively chorus heart and voice, they succeeded in overcoming the resistance offered; but it was not till after many repetitions of the same invigorating air that the anchor was finally brought up.”
[Laying of the Atlantic Cable, Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, Vol.98, 1865]
SS Great Eastern (1858)
Frontispiece: Weighing anchor off Maplin Sands, Nore, July 15, 1865, watercolour by Robert Charles Dudley.
[The Atlantic Telegraph (1865), W.H. Russell, 1865]

“Thirty-six feet further aft is a capstan, the shaft of which passes down through this deck and two others, where it may be geared, if required, to one of the auxiliary engines. On all of these decks, and on the same shaft, is also a capstan, put in or out of gear by a clutch, each capstan having levers for 50 men. It requires the three fully manned, 150 men, to raise the anchor without steam power. The engine gearing is as large and heavy as that required to drive a flour mill.”
[The Great Eastern.; A Detailed and Illustrated Description of the Great Ship. Comparative Diagram of her Proportions, New York Times, 30 June 1860]
Great Eastern Lower Deck
[Frank Leslie’s Illustrated Newspaper, Sept. 24, 1859]