Common sense is always good. Many sea chanteys contain the "n-word", but it can easily be changed to "sailor". When singing "Paddy West" for kids, we change "the mate's a bastard" to "the mate is nasty". Since I do most of my singing in a national park, I am always concerned about stuff that most or many people might find offensive, especially since most chanteys were sung in all-male environments for the entertainment of the crew while working. But of course there will always be those PC types who will get offended at practically anything, and you simply have to ignore them or tell them you're sorry they were offended and leave it at that.

The time that really got me was singing for a kid program aboard the Lady Washington. I asked them what their standards were for kids, and was told, "No bad words (obviously!), no drinking, and no splicing Sally Brown." So what's left? That left out practically every chantey I know. I finally came up with one about a storm at sea. Talk about sugar-coating history for kids! When they sang "Paddy Lay Back", instead of "I got paralytic drunk on my advance", it was "I bought a shirt and a new pair of pants."