Sea Shanties
Traditional Work Songs Sung Aboard Ships
When I first heard the words “sea shanty,” I immediately pictured a weather-beaten cottage at the edge of some wind-swept cliff overlooking a perilous sea. Boy, was I wrong.
A sea shanty is actually a traditional folk song. Fishermen and sailors came up with these work songs to help them get into a rhythm while they labored aboard ship. And here I thought all sailors did was swear.
Since they were used to keep everyone working together and in time, they are catchy little songs. Being that my newest release, Man of Shadow and Mist, is set in the seafaring town of Whitby, England, I gave my heroine’s father the habit of whistling sea shanties while he works in the library. Too bad he doesn’t have an ear for music, though, and is often woefully off-key.
Spanish Ladies is an example of what he might have whistled.
If you’d like to find out what other songs Rosa’s father whistles in the story, snatch up your copy of Man of Shadow and Mist at your favorite bookseller…or try your hand at winning one of ten copies here.