Long before modern communication and before the days of highways and railroads, ships and waterways connected communities near and far. As sailors traveled from one port to another, they brought their songs with them and learned new ones from the people they met, spreading maritime folklore and traditions across the world.
Folkways Goes… to Sea features songs from the English-speaking maritime world, with origins in the United States, the Bahamas, Canada, Ireland, Aotearoa (New Zealand), and the United Kingdom. Lyrics commemorate shipwrecks and storms, famous figures from maritime history, the indignities of shipboard life, the loneliness of being far from loved ones, the follies of sailors in port, and the joys of being homeward bound.
These are songs sung by sailors, whalers, fishermen, shipyard workers, and more, including singer-songwriters and broadside balladeers who may never have set foot on a ship. Some are true sea shanties—work songs that set the rhythms for maritime labor—while others are songs that would have been enjoyed during sailors’ leisure time at sea and ashore. Whether centuries old or contemporary, all tell us something about the seafaring cultures from which they came.
Smithsonian Folkways
Long before modern communication and before the days of highways and railroads, ships and waterways connected communities near and far. As sailors traveled from one port to another, they brought their songs with them and learned new ones from the people they met, spreading maritime folklore and traditions across the world.
Folkways Goes… to Sea features songs from the English-speaking maritime world, with origins in the United States, the Bahamas, Canada, Ireland, Aotearoa (New Zealand), and the United Kingdom. Lyrics commemorate shipwrecks and storms, famous figures from maritime history, the indignities of shipboard life, the loneliness of being far from loved ones, the follies of sailors in port, and the joys of being homeward bound.
These are songs sung by sailors, whalers, fishermen, shipyard workers, and more, including singer-songwriters and broadside balladeers who may never have set foot on a ship. Some are true sea shanties—work songs that set the rhythms for maritime labor—while others are songs that would have been enjoyed during sailors’ leisure time at sea and ashore. Whether centuries old or contemporary, all tell us something about the seafaring cultures from which they came.
Read more about the playlist and listen on your preferred platform → folkways.si.edu/playlist/folkways-goes-to-sea
1 month ago | [YT] | 15