What is a shanty? It is a “call to response” working song, which was used by sailors on large merchant sailing ships. Many jobs on board these ships require a rhythm and the shanties helped them to maintain the beat.
The word shanty is thought to have been derived from the French verb to sing, chantez.
The most famous shanty is reported to be “Blow the Man Down” and was employed when large sails were being hoisted onboard ship. It was used particularly between 1840-1870 on the packet ships. The switch to steam-powered ships and the use of machines onboard by the end of the 19th century meant that eventually shanties ceased to have a practical function.
On shore, shanty singing became popular in the 1920s and is now seeing yet another revival all around the coast of Great Britain. Martin Bruce set up his group in 2018 with local villagers from Rye Harbour, many of whom had fond memories of family evenings in the 60s when Johnny Doughty sang in the William the Conqueror pub on the river front. There is a wonderful film made by the BBC programme ‘Down Your Way’, which records many of the local families still living in the area, singing along to Johnny. It was the highlight of their week.
On Saturday evening in the Harbour Social Club, Martin’s group, Round Rye Bay Singers, sang some well-known shanties as well as a number of local favourites featuring Rye Harbour itself, finishing with Rye Harbour Girl and Round Rye Bay for More. Many of the club members were in good voice and joined in enthusiastically with the choruses. May the tradition of such community singing never disappear.
Image Credits: Kt Bruce .