There were three recurrent themes in the lyrics of sea shanties: references to the women sailors had encountered or hoped to meet; the pleasures or otherwise of alcohol; and the work, discipline, and dangers of shipboard life. For instance, the shanty chorus ‘rock and roll me overboard’ long predates the name given to the popular music genre.

This event will explore both the economic need in ships of the mid-19th century to employ a shanty singer and secondly the social role of shanties in knitting together a disparate group of seamen. Thirdly, the talk covers the survival of shanties, long after their redundancy as work songs, and how a strong culture has grown up of amateurs singing them. There will be live examples, with some limited opportunities for 'restrained' audience participation.

This event will take place both online and in person in the Dockrill Room at King's College London.

About the speaker

Dr Roy Fenton is an independent researcher, editor and publisher whose interests are in merchant shipping of the 19th and 20th centuries. He can claim practical experience of shanty singing, albeit whilst safely on shore.