SEA SHANTIES
VIRAL DIDDIE ‘WELLERMAN’ ISN’T A TRUE SHANTY
“Soon may the wellerman come, to bring us sugar and tea and rum one day, when the tonguing is done we’ll take our leave and go” is a refrain many folks are familiar with thanks to the viral popularity of “Wellerman” on TikTok.
Since gaining new fame, “Wellerman” is often referred to as a sea shanty or tagged as being part of #shantytok, but here’s the thing ... it’s not actually a sea shanty.
Fear not, the song that has stolen hearts of listeners around the globe is a sea song or a maritime song and an absolute bop. It’s just not a shanty.
Sea shanty is often used as an umbrella term for maritime songs, but a true sea shanty is actually a work song, maritime musician and research historian Joseph Morneault said.
Morneault has been performing shanties and maritime songs for several decades as a member of The Jovial Crew, a Connecticut-based band that performed “songs of the sea and shore,” including pub songs, maritime music and shanties, on a weekly basis at the Griswold Inn prior to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“A sea shanty is specifically a work song. It’s a song that’s designed for purposes of a particular job aboard ship,” Morneault said. He added that many folk songs or drinking songs are mislabeled as shanties because they mention the sea or a ship.
David Littlefield, a former “chanteyman” with the Mystic Seaport Museum and a maritime musician and member of Forebitter, explained that a true shanty was used to maintain a rhythm while laborers conducted their tasks.
He also explained that shanties were not used on larger naval vessels, but were used specifically on smaller merchant and whaling ships.
“The main object is to provide a workable cadence, workable speed, in order to complete a task, so aboard ship that would be heaving or hauling,” Littlefield said.
He noted while the shanties could be entertaining, their primary function was to act as a “tool” and not entertain the sailors.
Morneault echoed Littlefield’s information, saying, “It’s not Hollywood. They weren’t sitting around all day dancing and singing. It was a tool, it was a tool in the tool box.”
Sailors, of course, sang other diddies while at sea, but Littlefield clarified the songs sailors sang for entertainment would be considered “folk soul songs.”
Erik Ingmundson, the interpretation director at Mystic Seaport Museum, said the songs became prevalent because “merchant ships had relatively small crews and those small crews had to do a lot of heavy, difficult work, and in order to do that work more efficiently the use of call and response music became a way to synchronize their efforts and get the job done.”
Shanties originated in every corner of the world, Littlefield said, noting they were influenced by African working songs and minstrels, ballads and religious songs that would have been popular in the 19th century.
Ingmundson described shanties as having “multicultural” influences.
Shanties on ship were also performed very differently than they are performed today, Morneault explained that a shanty would have been sung slowly and deliberately, which was great for maintaining a rhythm while working, but wouldn’t be engaging for a contemporary audience.
“Most shanties that are performed by singers today are upbeat. There’s more of a growl involved, a lot of leaning on the choruses, where people are now singing rather intricate harmonies.” Sailors would have been more focused on their labor than creating complicated harmonies while working the lines.
When talking about the maritime song “Wellerman” — all three men were quick to clarify it is not a shanty — Ingmundson said he thinks maritime songs and shanties have become popular during the pandemic because TikTok enables users to build onto other people’s videos.
“Part of the appeal of sea shanties right now in our current moment is that they were never meant to be sung alone. They are a communal form of singing, and they are meant to bring people together to do something,” he said.
Ingmundson also said he believes people look at 19th century sailing through a nostalgic lens.
“There’s always been a certain romance and nostalgia that people have for the age of sail, even though it was in fact a challenging time to be making a living from the sea and far from perfect, but I think it captures a lot of people’s imaginations,” he said.
“What’s interesting, too, is that although shantying as a tool for work fell by the wayside in the late 19th century when steam came about, it has lived on in folk music for generations.
“There are a lot of musicians who play folk music that is not necessarily true shanties, but it’s inspired by that art form, so people have carried on the tradition and interpreted it through music in different ways. So it’s endured.”
Morneault said he’s noticed an increased interest in shanties and maritime music in the last five years as people who have stumbled across the music through video games and Renaissance fairs have found their way to his band’s shows.
“These people feel like they’ve discovered something new that’s been under the nose all along,” he said. He hopes people who have found shanties and maritime music during the pandemic will continue to enjoy the music.
Littlefield added that he thinks shanties have “come into their own” during the pandemic because of their communal nature.
“Shanties are sung a cappella and there’s a beauty in that. I think that’s why they’re so attractive to people today, particularly young people during COVID, because if you can’t lead a shanty at least you can sing on a chorus.”
Connecticut has a long seafaring history and the state was home to a number of ports, Ingmundson noted. New London had a “thriving” port and Mystic functioned as a bustling shipbuilding center during the 19th century before wooden ships fell out of vogue.
While our sources weren’t aware of any shanties originating from Connecticut’s shores, Morneault said it was common for chanteymen to change the lyrics of a song at a whim, “particularly if there was a local event that happened or if they just left port from a particular town and he’s teasing one of the guys who got into some trouble.”
The adaptability of shanties is particularly useful, as Littlefield noted. Traditional lyrics weren’t politically correct by today’s standards and featured sexist and racist language.
He clarified that the language wasn’t used “maliciously” but was intended as more of a friendly banter within the diverse cultures represented on ship.
Morneault saidas a performer he adapts the songs to make them more “palatable” to his audience.
“We don’t go too far. There’s still the bawdy sound in some of the songs, which is rather titillating in various settings, and we leave those out when we sing more family-friendly venues.”