top ten songs: sea shanties.

To quote my boss:

I don't Tik, and I don't Tok.

It was therefore impossible for me to have known about the sudden (albeit brief) explosion of sea shanty popularity on TikTok known as "ShantyTok."

You need to know that.

I was listening to sea shanties before they were cool.

YES I SAID IT.

Perhaps I was a sailor in another life. Or a mermaid in this life.

I feel most at home in or near the water.

Water instantly brings me back to life.

I am clumsy on land.

I lure men into the sea and drown them.

(Kidding about that last one.)

(Maybe.)

So I love sea shanties. My list is a mix of true shanties and modern shanties, which I've noted in the description. If you haven't had the pleasure of listening to any shanties, allow me to highly HIGHLY recommend them. If you have, let's compare notes on favourites.

Northwest Passage

modern shanty

"Northwest Passage" is absolutely my favourite sea shanty, even though it's not a true sea shanty - having been written in 1981. Every version I've heard is amazing. It's actually one of Canada's unofficial national anthems. If it doesn't make you want to jump on a ship and go adventuring, I don't know what will.

Wellerman

 

true shanty

 

Here's a true sea shanty, believed to have been written in the 1860s or 1870s. Sea shanties were often work songs, and this particular one may have been sung as whalers cut up a whale for its blubber. The hallmark of all true sea shanties is that they are catchy. While the lyrics aren't necessarily happy, there's often a call-and-response or an oft-repeated chorus to keep the workers engaged and upbeat. Professor Calla at your service. I got my PhD from Wikipedia University.

Barrett's Privateers

 

modern shanty

 

"Barrett's Privateers" was released in 1976 and was written by the same guy who wrote "Northwest Passage" (Stan Rogers - I guess he's my favourite musician now), and it's awesome. It's an amazing adventure tale of a privateering ship and its misadventures.

Maid of Amsterdam

true shanty

This is an old one: written in 1600 or so. It's a cautionary tale about going "a-roving" with fair maids. Sea shanties aren't all tragic - this one is pretty funny. Got to keep those spirits up while sailing the high seas.

Sally Brown

true shanty

The version of "Sally Brown" I first heard was more similar to "Maid of Amsterdam" in that Sally Brown wasn't interested in the sailor. This Sally Brown is much nicer than that.

Bones in the Ocean

modern shanty

Another not-strictly sea shanty (written in the 2010s), it's about the sea and sailing and contains the repetition and rhythm of traditional sea shanties, so I'm going to go with it. It's beautiful and mournful and about a sailor who loses his crew and goes to join them.

Rio Grande

true shanty

I feel that you can tell a good sea shanty if it makes you want to sway while you're listening to it. You know, like you're on a ship in the ocean. This one is no exception. This is one of two shanties on my list from the Mexican-American War.

The Last Shanty

 

 modern shanty

 

Here we have a funny (and educational!) modern shanty about how different being a sailor is today than it was years ago, thanks to technology. Everything, that is, except the drinking. Kind of like college.

Santiano

 

true shanty

  

Another shanty from the Mexican-American war, "Santiano" refers to General Santa Anna. Don't rely on it for historical accuracy, though - apparently sailors would make up lyrics as they saw fit.

Rockstar Sea Shanty

 modern shanty

And finally, the most modern of the sea shanties and the only Nickelback song I will ever endorse. It is in the style of being a sea shanty and about wanting to be a rock star (like sailors used to be, perhaps?). When you listen, it's actually kind of funny - and for the bridge, it samples the most famous of the sea shanties, "Drunken Sailor." 

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There are a gazillion more awesome sea shanties, and if you like these, go check them out. If you need me, I'll be sailing the high seas of Lake Poinsett.