By Cyrus Muckscrapper
OK, first the short version for those of you who don't want the history lesson, and just want the basic information: Sea shanteys (chantys, shanties, chanties - all spellings are often seen, though shantey is the nominally 'correct' one) are the songs of sailors, often used to coordinate work efforts, and for recreation. They have been recorded in various forms since the first records of sailing were kept, but most come from the mid to late 1800s (the 'Golden Age' of sail) When working, normally the shanty was sung as a call and response, where one man (called, appropriately enough, the shanteyman) would sing out the verses, with the rest of the crew singing the choruses.
Now for the history.
As mentioned earlier, shantey singing has been a part of sailing since the first ships set forth. On board the vessels, when a sail needed to be run aloft, the sailors found that it made the job easier to have some sort of rhythmic accompaniment to time their pulls to. At first, these were no more than basic rhythms, often without discernable words, and almost certainly not recognizable today. However, as with the ships that they were heard on, shanteys evolved with the times.
To begin with, there are several types of shanteys. They range from the normally melodic 'Forebitters', or 'foc's'le' shanteys that were sung by the crew to entertain each other (songs like 'The Handsome Cabin Boy' are a good example) through the harsh working shanteys.
The working shanties are usually classed by the work done to the tune. The most common classes are 'Capstan' shanteys ('Rolling Home', 'Paddy Lay Back'), used when manning the capstan, usually to haul in the anchor. They are distinguished by having a very steady rhythm, well suited to the throng of men heaving to on the capstan. They also were usually longer than any of the others, as befits hauling in a lengthy lead from an anchor. 'Pumping' shanteys ('Maid of Amsterdam') usually have a very strong beat pattern and rhythm fitting the motions of the several crew members manning the pumps. For example, 'In AMSterdam I MET a maid, mark WELL what I DO say', to help the crews keep time with the cycles of the long handles of the pumps. Although they were more often known for the individual jobs they were used for, 'Hauling' shanteys are overall most prevalent. Examples include some of our best known shanteys, 'Haul Away Joe', 'One More Day', etc., where (historically) the shanteyman sings a verse, and the crew hauls together in time with beats of the chorus.
Keeping an eye towards history, it should be acknowledged that several (well, honestly most) of the shanteys that are sung at Renaissance Faires are more than likely not from the renaissance period. Most experts seem to agree that the only truly 'period' shantey is 'Haul on the Bowline'. This one was used for a short haul, and the use of 'bowline' so prominently pegs this one as very early, as the bowline has not been a line of any consequence since the early 1500's. Others of possibly period heritage ('Maid of Amsterdam' being a notable example) are usually spoken of as first being sung sometime near the end of the renaissance, usually 1600-1650. A few shanties are still around from these early ages, but several historians believe that most 'shanties' of this period were quick, tuneless haul and drag calls, with no melody to speak of, and no lyric structure.
The true 'golden age' of shanteys did not begin until the early to mid 1800's (though some think that there was a resurgence in shipboard music around 1750, this apparently was almost entirely recreational popular music, not true shanties). Then, a combination of a booming sea trade and the boom in printing helped to spread the songs of the sea to the public, encouraging massive dissemination of the songs. It must be said that most sea songs or shanties currently sung at Renaissance Faires come from this boom. Unless you're at an event that requires pure authenticity (or are with a group requiring the same), it is the subject matter, structure of the melody, and period references that are more important than the actual date the song was written.
Shanteys are a mixture of several diverse backgrounds and styles. In the beginning, shanteys as we know them were either rhythmic shouts and calls or fairly closely related to the folk songs of home, with the sailors adapting the songs of their youth to the new jobs at hand. Keep in mind that work songs are recorded as having been around for pretty much as long as repetitive labor has, and sailors would be no exception to wanting a song to speed the work along.
Another influence in the development of the shantey is the slave trade. At first, the sailors on the slave ships would likely hear snatches of songs being sung in the holds by the slaves, and adapt what was likeable to them. Later, plantation owners realized that sending their slaves to sea as sailors was an economical alternative to keeping them on the plantation all winter. With them came the songs that they sang while working, and soon the sailors had adopted several of the slaves' songs and themes, and the slaves adopted the sailors'.
As the role of the sea in trade expanded, the gulf between the officers and crews did as well. The more educated (and higher socially ranked) classes produced the ship's officers, with the crew made up of large amounts of emigrants unable to find other work in the seaside towns. This process was well underway during the Renaissance, and this is also when it is most likely that the true 'international blend' began to appear in the sea shanty. Officers became more remote, discipline harsh, and crews harder to come by. Records have suggested that on many occasions, natives from visited nations would be lured into service, and they would naturally bring along their cultural music as well.
Life at sea was harsh. Ships were at sea for long periods (some for years at a time). Here, the sailors would sleep in abysmal quarters, eat barely edible food, and die in massive amounts from shipboard accidents, scurvy, fighting amongst the crew, and the ever-present 'discipline' of the mates and officers. One of the few things a sailor could do to keep his hopes alive was to sing the songs of home, as a reminder of what was left behind, and was hoped to be seen again. Songs also helped to take the drudgery and boredom out of life on board ship, and to motivate and coordinate the crew during hauling and reefing sails. Importantly, songs could also be used as a petty 'revenge' against hated officers or crew members. Since speaking against an officer could often result in penalties from reduced pay through painful torture and death, using veiled insults in a work song would provide for a less dangerous safety valve for an aggrieved crew member.
A final influence is more felt in the overall feel of the shanties, rather than any examples. This comes from the golden age of sail, when ships sailed to all ports around the globe, picking up sailors of all nationalities, most of whom in the beginning would rarely (if ever) have seen or heard anyone from another culture. Each brought with them their own folk songs and traditions, and added them to the rich mixture already there. Through this mixture of cultures, songs such as 'John Kanaka', a shantey about a Hawaiian sailor and thought to have a Hawaiian song structure, many songs featuring 'Rueben Ranzo', a sailor whose nationality is given as Portuguese, Dutch, German, English, and pretty much any other nation that sailed, and several other songs whose subject, themes, and sometimes lyrics, reflect the nation that the sailor came from. Even on a ship where the captain did not supplement his crew with 'foreigners', the crew would mingle with the locals when ashore, and hear the songs of other cultures. Sailors often shifted from vessel to vessel as well, and would take with them the songs that they'd heard from previous voyages.
During this period, the most well known shanteys began to take form as it is known now. The word 'shantey' itself originated in this meaning during the 'Golden Age'. Many of the well known shanteys take their tunes from folksongs of the time, and several as well from popular heroes and characters of many nations(the well known 'Paddy', present on many songs of the time is a good example of this, as well as the bumbling 'Rueben Ranzo'). Sailors were well known for being adept at quickly assimilating other songs heard on foreign shores, and soon the shantey assumed a standing of its' own.
Shanteys in some form or another (call outs, stamp and go, or shanties as we mostly know them) were almost always an integral part of sailing. While on military vessels they were normally discouraged, it was a rare and ill-favored ship that had no shantyman aboard.
It wasn't until the late 1800's, with the switch to steam that they fell into disuse, and by that time the lumber and railway shanteys were taking their place. These kept much the same spirit as the original songs - often because the lumberjack sawing to the tune of "Cheerily Boys" could have been found years earlier reefing sails. Up until the early 1900's, you could still find shanteys being sung on the rail-camp work crews, and in the Northwestern logging mills. Over the years, however, they've lost their place as strenuous and repetitive work has become more and more mechanized. Now, while you can still hear an occasional work song, shanteys themselves have become the provenance of the historian and professional entertainer. Still, keep in mind that shanteys have almost always been a part of history, and we carry on a proud tradition by doing our part to keep them around.