• Learn More About Sea Shanteys Grade 6, Log On Sea chanteys are
songs meant to accompany people as they work. The word is
sometimes spelled "chantey" and other times "shantey," which
also hints to some of its possible origins. The French verb for
"sing" is chanter (or, when used as a command, chantez). Another
possibility is that the word comes from late nineteenth century
North America, when men all along the east coast worked in small
nomadic camps, and lived in shanties. These men were
lumberjacks, sailors, ship workers, or railroad workers, and
they sang their songs as they worked. The form of chanteys might
very well be attributed to the type of work the original singers
were performing. Chanteys are divided into solo and chorus
sections. The work leader calls out a passage (solo), to which
the group of workers would respond (chorus). Certain kinds of
songs were used for a certain kind of task. If they were doing a
quick repeated action, like pulling on a rope, they might use
short calls back and forth.