The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #37548 Message #523931
Posted By: Charley Noble
08-Aug-01 - 07:32 PM
Thread Name: What is a Shanty
Subject: RE: What is a Shanty
Well, I think we should tighten up what's supposed to be a shanty or chantey from what we all sometimes refer to as shanties or chanteys. Number one, they should be work chants or songs that have to to with ships: working the sails, pumping out water, hoisting the anchor, loading and unloading. Similiar work songs ashore used for building rail lines, working in the lumber camps, framing barns and homes, transplanting banana trees, sharpening pencils, and data entry should not be called shanties or chanteys unless one is making a parody of the whole thing.
The sea ballads or other songs that sailors traditionally sang for their entertainment should not be called shanties or chanteys; they're generally known as forebitters or fo'c'sle songs. The terms themselves apparently cannot be traced back before the 1850's although there is clear evidence that the songs went back long before that; the songs just weren't called shanties or chanteys.