The Songs of Sea Workers

Dossier prepared by Madeleine Leclair and Eirini Manolaki

Earlier this year, sea shanties conquered the internet!

"The weary whaling grounds", by A.-L. Lloyd, Dave Swarbrick, Alf Edwards, Martin Carthy.

Sailors’ Songs, Anthology of Sea Songs, volume 4: Ballads, Laments and Shanties of English Sailors. Disc 1, track A6. S.c.o.p. du Chasse-Marée, 1983. SCM 005.

Broadcasted with the kind permission of the Chasse-marée association.

What is their origin by the way? Are they songs sung only on board of a ship? Or simply songs sung by sailors?

"The bonny ship the Diamond", by A.-L. Lloyd (voice), Dave Swarbrick (fiddle), Alf Edwards (concertina) and Martin Carthy (mandolin).

Sailors’ Songs, Anthology of Sea Songs, Volume 4: Ballads, Laments and Shanties of the English Sailors. Disc 1, track A1. S.c.o.p. du Chasse-Marée, 1983. SCM 005.

Broadcasted with the kind permission of the Chasse-marée association.

Listening to the many recordings preserved in the MEG's International Folk Music Archive (IFMA/AIMP), it becomes clear that the sea workers were not only sailors. Carpenters, caulkers, fishermen and the families of seafarers who stayed ashore are also people whose lives are deeply related to the sea, a majestic, mysterious, sometimes frightening and unfathomable world that is conducive to imagination and creativity.

On board of a ship, there are many work songs. For, the tasks to be performed at sea are hard. They require strength and good "tuning" to give rhythm to the workers' movements.

"Ceux qui ont nommé les bancs", by Michel Colleu (voice and diatonic accordion). Newfoundland.

Sailors’ Songs, Anthology of Sea Songs, volume 1: Traditional Sea Shanties from the Coasts of France. Disc 2, track B1. S.c.o.p. du Chasse-Marée, 1983. SCM 005.

Broadcasted with the kind permission of the Chasse-marée association.

"Tom's gone to Hilo" (hoist song), by Bob Davenport

Sailors' Songs, Anthology of Sea Songs, volume 4: Ballads, Laments and Shanties of the English Sailors. Disc 1, track A4. S.c.o.p. du Chasse-Marée, 1983. SCM 005.

Broadcasted with the kind permission of the Chasse-marée association.

In North America and England, the expression sea shanties is used to designate, in general, all the work songs on board of a ship: rowing songs, dehaling songs, sail hoisting songs, songs to weigh the anchor, tacking songs, etc.

"Aloué la falaloué" (hoisting song), led by Christian Desnos

Sailors' Songs, Anthology of Sea Songs, volume 1: Traditional Sea Shanties from the Coasts of France. Disc 2, track A8. S.c.o.p. du Chasse-Marée, 1983. SCM 005.

Broadcasted with the kind permission of the Chasse-marée association.

Suite of hoisting songs (singers unknown). Newfoundland.

Sailors' Songs, Anthology of Sea Songs, volume 1: Traditional Sea Shanties From the Coasts of France. Disc 2, track B2. S.c.o.p. du Chasse-Marée, 1983. SCM 005.

Broadcasted with the kind permission of the Chasse-marée association.

"The Greenland whale fishery”, by the Watersons.

Sailors' Songs, Anthology of Sea Songs, volume 4: Ballads, Laments and Shanties of English Sailors. Disc 1, track A2. S.c.o.p. du Chasse-Marée, 1983. SCM 005.

Broadcasted with the kind permission of the Chasse-marée association.

"Talcahuano girls", by A.-L. Lloyd (vocals), Dave Swarbrick (violin), Alf Edwards (concertina) and Martin Carthy (mandolin).

Sailors' Songs, Anthology of Sea Songs, volume 4: Ballads, Laments and Shanties of English Sailors. Disc 1, track A5. S.c.o.p. du Chasse-Marée, 1983. SCM 005.

Broadcasted with the kind permission of the Chasse-marée association.

The general structure of the work songs includes a short solo followed by a repetitive refrain. However, there are certain characteristics that seem to be more particularly related to the songs of sea workers. For example, in the French maritime tradition, the rowing songs have an extremely slow rhythm, and the solos of the hoisting songs are usually improvised. In the Gulf countries, the songs to weigh the anchor (hadwat) involve repetition of words and onomatopoeia, while for hoisting the sails the sailors sing a sequence of songs with a gradually increasing tempo.

"Ya madinat ar rassul" (Medina, city of the prophet). Sailors' song by the group Al Mayuf.

Kuwait, Al Mayuf Diwanayah, 18.11.1978. Paul Mattar collection, magnetic tape BD789: 6.

Yamli (sea shanties), by the Al Mayuf group.

Kuwait, Al Masuf Diwanayah, 16 or 18.11.1978. Paul Mattar collection, magnetic tape BD791: 2.

The sailors did not only sing while working. Their repertoire also included ballads, dances and songs for relaxation.

On board, the stories and dangers of navigation provided many sources of inspiration. Many songs describe the life of whalers or on board sailing ships. Often the difficulties experienced by the sailors are described with a sense of humour. Naval battles, tragedies at sea and other historical events are frequent themes in the songs. In France, certain themes are recurrent: the three sailors of Groix, the Danaé, “Jean-François de Nantes” or the little galiot. The sailors' farewell songs, love songs and stories of kidnapping of young girls are also part of the sailors' repertoire.

"Jean-François de Nantes" (hoisting song), led by Christian Desnos

Sailors' Songs, Anthology of Sea Songs, volume 1: Traditional Sea Shanties from the Coasts of France. Disc 1, track A7. S.c.o.p. du Chasse-Marée, 1983. SCM 005.

Broadcasted with the kind permission of the Chasse-marée association.

"The Girl from the Sands". John Wright (fiddle) (unidentified singer).

Sailors' Songs, Anthology of Sea Songs, Volume 3: Songs of the Whalers and Longships. Disc 2, track B1. S.c.o.p. du Chasse-Marée, 1983. SCM 005.

Broadcasted with the kind permission of the Chasse-marée association.

Apart from sailors, other navigators also have their own musical tradition. In Nantes, France, the songs of the boatmen reflect the cultural exchanges between the interior of the country and the maritime world. From 1850 onwards, a repertoire also developed in the yachting world.

In all countries of the world where people live from the sea, fishing is a central theme in the songs of the sailors, and the fishermen often have songs that are specific to them.

Khatfa (sea farers' song), by the group Al Amiri

Kuwait, Radio Kuwait, 15.01.1979. Paul Mattar collection, magnetic tape BD805: 2

On the beaches of Oman or Kuwait, or on board, fishermen sit in a circle around drummers, also giving rhythm to their singing by clapping their hands.

Haddadi (sailors' relaxation song), by the group Al Amīri

Kuwait, Radio Kuwait, 15.01.1979. Paul Mattar collection, magnetic tape BD803: 4

"Hilayo" (mkholfi relaxation song of the sailors), by the group Al Amīri

Kuwait, Radio Kuwait, 15.01.1979. Paul Mattar collection, magnetic tape BD804: 3

The revival of sea shanties

In 1927, the French captain Armand Hayet published Chansons de bord, a collection of fourteen sailors' songs, thus revealing to the public the popular poetry of French sailors. Very quickly, these songs were taken up on land, in cafés and bistros. Performed outside their original context, the sea shanties gradually began to change. After decades of oblivion, they became popular again from the 1980s onwards, thanks to a few enthusiasts of maritime culture, who began systematic collections of songs and collected the testimony of old sailors.

"Le navire de Bayonne", by Jean Ribouillault

Sailors' Songs, Anthology of Sea Songs, volume 1: Traditional Sea Shanties From the Coasts of France. Disc 1, track A4. S.c.o.p. du Chasse-Marée, 1983. SCM 005.

Broadcasted with the kind permission of the Chasse-marée association.

"Matelote", by John Wright (fiddle), Claude Ribouillault (fiddle), Arnaud Maisonneuve (banjo) and Bernard Subert (veuze).

Sailors' Songs, Anthology of Sea Songs, Volume 3: Songs of the Whalers and Longships. Disc 1, track A3. S.c.o.p. du Chasse-Marée, 1983. SCM 005.

Broadcasted with the kind permission of the Chasse-marée association.

In the United States, the collection of maritime songs began much earlier. In 1870, R.C. Adams published On board the Rocket which featured fourteen shanties. In 1917, Captain J. Robinson published an article in The Bellman magazine on the origins and performance of work songs. Between 1920 and 1960, American folklorists did some remarkable work. In 1951, W.M. Doerflinger published Shantymen Shantyboys, the most outstanding American publication on sea shanties, with his tape recorder and recording campaigns. This book, together with Stan Hugill's, helped to spread the music and it was taken up by folksingers. In 1978, the first seasong festival was held in Seattle, followed by the San Francisco festival a year later.

"Off to sea once more", by A.-L. Lloyd (voice) and Alf Edwards (concertina).

Sailors' Songs, Anthology of Sea Songs, volume 4: Ballads, Laments and Shanties of the English Sailors. Disc 1, track A8. S.c.o.p. du Chasse-Marée, 1983. SCM 005.

Broadcasted with the kind permission of the Chasse-marée association.

Thanks to those who love maritime life, several associations, exhibitions and recordings have been created. Although the era of tall ships is now over, the sea remains an important element for those who live in close contact with this environment.

Rowing song by Yannis or Ioannis Giannitsaris or Yannitsaris.

Greece, Aegina. Recording by Despina Mazaraki, 1956. Samuel Baud-Bovy collection, magnetic tape BD736 : 18.