Sea shanties are songs that were sung by sailors in rhythm with their work. The word may derive from the French words chanter meaning "to sing" or chantez meaning "sing!", which gives rise to the spelling variations "chanty", "chantey", "chanties", and "chanteys". Alternately, the word may have originated with American loggers, sailors, railroad and dock workers. These migrant workmen typically lived in camps of "shanties", derived from the French word gantry meaning "trellis or roof", and often these rustic shacks weren't much more than that. These hardworking men would pass their leisure time drinking, singing and playing music in their camps, and the folk songs that they sang came to be called "shanty songs". This etymological analysis gives rise to the spelling variants "shanty", "shantey", "shanties", and "shanties".

Whatever the derivation, sea shanties were sung by sailors to ease the burden of hard physical labor. A true sea shanty was sung in rhythm to work on the ship and never during leisure time. Different types of shanties were sung to accompany the various tasks on the ship, for example halyard shanties were sung during the raising and lowering the sails and capstain shanties were sung during the raising or lowering of the anchor. Many songs that we often consider to be sea shanties are actually forebitters or forecastle (fo'c'sle) songs that were sung during the men's scarse leisure time while relaxing in the foreward below deck area. These songs were often ballads of love or longing to return home.

Anyone seriously interested in the history of sea shanties and shantymen must obtain a copy of Stan Hugill's book, Shanties from the Seven Seas. Hugill was possibly the last true shantyman of the 20th century (he died in 1992 at the age of 86). There are approximately 400 songs contained in Hugill's book, and it's the closest thing to a "Sea Shanty Bible" out there.

Holdstock & MacLeod have long been recognized as source people for maritime music and songs of the sea, including shanties.

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