What are sea shanties and why was Liverpool sung about so often in ships which plied the trade routes across the world ?
Shanties were work songs, sung on board sailing ships in the mid / late 19th century to ease the hard and brutal work and to keep up the rhythm of repetitive tasks like pulling on ropes, pushing around the capstan and working the pumps. They helped men to work together and get the job done better and faster. The Shantyman would sing songs appropriate to the work, making up new verses as needed, and because many of the crew members either came from Liverpool or had passed through, the city's name would be a popular choice on board ship
Shanties had a short life, in regular use only from the middle of the 19th century until steam power took over in the early 20th. But in their heyday their impact on the speed of a ship was great, particularly on the tea runs where speed was vital as the first clipper back got the best prices.
Shanties were only used on the commercial Merchant ships, they were forbidden on Navy ships. It was said that to a shipowner a good Shantyman with a pair of leathery lungs and a flair for varying songs was worth 10 sailors. For that reason he was often given lighter duties. Shanties most likely grew out of the worksongs of the many nationalities and races making up the crews, who would have used rhythm, chant and music for planting, marching and rowing.
Forebitters were not work songs but were a mixture of self-penned, adapted and favourite popular songs which the sailors sang in their leisure time (what there was of it!) sitting at the front (fore) of the ship on the iron bollards (bits) used to secure the ropes.
Many of the shanties you will hear were collected by the last British shantyman STAN HUGILL (1906-1992) and can be found in his book Shanties of the Seven Seas.