Sea shanty
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
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A shanty (also spelled "chantey", "chanty") is a type of work song that was once commonly sung to accompany labor on board large merchant sailing vessels. Shanties became ubiquitous in the 19th century era of the wind-driven packet and clipper ships. However, the switch to steam-powered ships and the use of machines for shipboard tasks, by the end of the 19th century, meant that these work songs eventually ceased to fill a practical function. In most trades, shanties ceased to be used as work songs by first half of the 20th century. Information about shanties was preserved by veteran sailors and folklorist song-collectors, and their written and audio-recorded work provided sources that would later support a revival in singing shanties as a land-based leisure activity. "Shanty" most accurately refers to a specific style of work song belonging to an historical repertoire, however in recent, popular usage, its meaning is sometimes expanded to include a wider range of repertoire and characteristics.
