How did we go so long on SBO without diving into the Sea Shany meme.
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Sea Shanties
- Thread starter dlochner
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Very nice, Dave. Tks for sharing. I've spent a few years on the other side of the pond and sea shanties bring back fond memories of my sailing time over there. 
I enjoyed the movie "Fisherman's Friends" which is about a Sea Shanty group.
Available on Netflix.
Available on Netflix.
This was indeed a cute movie. My wife put it on and I said "please not a movie about sea shanties". After watching it, that description really sells the movie short. It's worth a watch.
Chanty does seem to make more sense, like a chant. I think both are correct but shanty seems to be the more prevalent usage these days.
From Wikipedia
A sea shanty, chantey, or chanty is a type of traditional folk song that was once commonly sung as a work song to accompany rhythmical labor on board large merchant sailing vessels. The term shanty most accurately refers to a specific style of work song belonging to this historical repertoire. However, in recent, popular usage, the scope of its definition is sometimes expanded to admit a wider range of repertoire and characteristics, or to refer to a "maritime work song" in general.
Etymology
The origin of the word "shanty" is unknown, though several inconclusive theories have been put forth. One of the earliest and most consistently offered derivations is from the French chanter, "to sing".
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I still have a 1983 Webster's Unabridged Dictionary--a hardbound book about 5" thick that weighs close to 10 lbs. Our language has evolved so much in 30 years that it's hopelessly out of date...I've almost gotten rid of it several times but have been stopped by a need to use it. 30 years ago, "shanty" was only defined as "a hut or shabby building, a temporary building"...no mention of songs or chants. "Chantey" was defined as "a song that sailors sing to enliven their work by marking rhythm"...."chanty" simply as "a chantey." That "shanty" is now accepted as a correct, or even preferred, spelling of "chanty" or "chantey" is one more example of how the English language evolves in order to keep up with DEvolving literacy.
Wikipedia's description isn't entirely accurate either. Sea chanties weren't traditional folk songs, they're a unique genre, nor were they limited to crews of merchant sailing ships..what may possibly be the oldest chanties date to the 1630s. They were also sung by dock workers. And although "chanties" specifically refer to SEA songs, the crews who laid the railroads across America and Canada had their own similar style work songs.
--Peggie
Peggie, I'm not sure how to break this to you, but things have changed since we were kids.
hold the line Peggy, i'll stand with you. wikipedia is a gossip site, or is it sight, or ....
where's justsomeguy when you need him.
my mom, also a peggy, always corrected my poor language. it only helped a little. when i went to see/sea i learned all kinds of new words.
..... and dave, those are not even sailors in those videos. sailors do not sound like that at all.
i blaim the modern school system it's tooo blew
where's justsomeguy when you need him.
my mom, also a peggy, always corrected my poor language. it only helped a little. when i went to see/sea i learned all kinds of new words.
..... and dave, those are not even sailors in those videos. sailors do not sound like that at all.
i blaim the modern school system
it's tooo blew
Splitting hairs here, but dislike Wikipedia as a source for accurate information. Peggie's old ten pound dictionary remains correct if you refer to current dictionary sources that state a definite distinction between shanty (a shack) and chanty (a chant).
And as Jon said,
And as Jon said,
which I agree with, in part. Parts of it offer a degree of correctness, but others include what opinions have been added over time.
Including the ability read, apparently...What part of Our language has evolved so much in 30 years that (my 1983 dictionary) is hopelessly out of date.. and That "shanty" is now accepted as a correct, or even preferred, spelling of "chanty" or "chantey" is one more example of how the English language evolves in order to keep up with DEvolving literacy fails to acknowledge that?Peggie, I'm not sure how to break this to you, but things have changed since we were kids.
My mom was also a stickler when it came to language...and I suspect both our moms would have been horrified if they'd ever heard us use some of the new words we learned when we became mariners!
I hijacked this thread last night and I apologize...I now return you to the topic of sea chanties.
--Peggie
I love it. I probably have the same Webster's Unabridged Dictionary (from 1979, 5" thick. We call it "the BFD") and I still have my Random House "College Dictionary" from back in 1975. They both agree with yours. I love these books but just get lazy sometimes and use the Google. My bad.
You could do worse things with an hour than watching David Coffin videos ...
Our Gilmore family song is 'The Old Dun Cow', which I learned from a cassette I'd ordered in high school, of traditional sea chanties by the South Street Singers of Mystic Connecticut.
The Futureheads changed a few words, but then, they're actually from England, not Ireland.
While it is really an Irish drinking song, it is a lot of fun and has a definite old sea song feel to it.
-Will (Dragonfly)
The Futureheads changed a few words, but then, they're actually from England, not Ireland.
-Will (Dragonfly)