When Stan Hugill was recording "Shanties of the Seven Seas" many years ago, down in the cellar of Cecil Sharp House in London, he was very keen on keeping them authentic as working shanties.

So he had the shanty crew (of which I was one) walking round in a circle for the capstan shanties, till we got it right, and hauling on cables for some of the other songs - whatever was the appropriate kind of activity.

So that's a good record to get if you want to work out the authentic kind of speed and rythym.

Most people sing shanties far too fast to be used as work songs. The same is true of Amwerican convict work songs. But then when sailors were singing shanties away from work, as forebitters, they wouldn't feel obliged to be "authentic", they'd sing at whatever speed felt right.