What it is, what to hear first, and what sits next to it.
Sea shanties (singular "shanty", also spelled "chantey"; derived from the French word "chanter", 'to sing') were shipboard working songs. Shanties flourished from at least the 15th century through the days of steam ships in the first half of the 20th century. Most surviving shanties date from the 19th and, less commonly, 18th centuries. In the days when human muscles were the only power source available aboard ship, sea shanties served a practical .