Six sea shanties

Here are six contrasting sea shanties that bring alive the physicality and toughness of the hard life on board ship. Great tunes, humorous lyrics and engaging accompaniments are a winning combination. Pick a selection if you don’t want to use the whole set.

The songs are drawn mostly from Stan Hugill’s wonderful book Shanties from the Seven Seas, which is recommended reading for anyone interested in their history. The arrangements were created for the changed voices section of the National Boys Choir of Scotland. Corresponding treble voice versions are published by Boosey & Hawkes.