Read a very interesting book lately called "The Great Days of Sail" by Andrew Shewan. Originally published in 1927.

Shewan was born about 1850 and served in tea-clippers from an ealry age. His father was a skipper and Andrew got his ticket very young.

He devotes a chapter to shanties.

A few of the points he makes are: (i) He describes hearing shanties sung by Chinese on war-junks in the sixties, hoisting sail.He makes the point that as the Chinese were very conservative, the songs were probably very old - or at least the practice

(ii) When he started sailing in clippers, orders themselves were habitually chanted rather than "ejaculated" or shouted. His father recalled hearing the same in Mediterranean traders, much earlier.

(iii) He mentions "Stormalong", "Drunken Sailor/soldier" and one with the chorus, "Ting-a-ling-ling for the Virgin Mary"! Also Haul the Bowline, , "Blow boys blow", "Sally Brown", "We're all bound to go"

(iv) He refers to "shanties proper, always to be known by having a chorus of less syllables than the legend..."

Regards