Shanties

Shanties And Sea Songs

    Movies like the Pirates of the Caribbean and Peter Pan take place on massive ships containing pirates and sailors but the key to the action scenes in movies is the music that changes your mood without you knowing. That's exactly the type of music I wanted to learn about pirate music or as it is actually called Shanties/ Chantys. The term Chanty is believed to originated from the French word Chanter which means to sing. 

Shanties in today's modern english is just a sea song but traditionally shanties are only songs that are about a sailors life and to ways to better coordinate manual labor on the ship. Why it is assumed that Shanties begun on Naval ships, that is incorrect. Shanties on naval ships were uncommon as it was seen as bad discipline, Whaling ships also had very few shanties as there were plenty more hands to divide the workload. Below is a Whaling sea song as far as we know about the occupation of Whaling. 

From the Alan Lomax collection, original recording of Asel TrueBlood recorded in 1938 by Alan Lomax, however Trueblood claims to have learned the song in 1888.

There are different kinds of Shanties that occur on board depending on what task is being accomplished. 

Stamp and Go Shanties: These shanties were sang specifically when they were hauling in inclement weather and for scraping barnacles off the bottom of the boat.  

Roll the Old Chariot

Roll the Woodpile Down 

Short Haul Shanties: They were shanties that were sung during a variety of minimal coordination tasks. These were also referred to as Short Pull Shanties. 

Haul Away 

Halyard Shanties: These shanties were sung while setting sail, this is also the largest category of shanties. These are also known as Capstan Shanties. 

Hanging Johnny

 

Pay Me Money Down 

Where Do Shanties come from?

Shanties are what is known as a call and response song, call and responses root from Africa. During the time sailing, Britain was known for having a diverse sailing crew including Africans. This being said all shanties are not African, different ethnic groups have different shanties. 

Most Popular British Sailing Shanties 

'Spanish Ladies' is a capstan shanty that describes a voyage from Spain to England. This tune talks about the women of Spain and was sung during activities that required a lot of physical strength. 

'Blow the Man Down' is another example of an English Shanty that references the Black Ball Line which was the first commercial shipping from Liverpool to New York through the atlantic ocean. 

'Haul Away' which was listed above is a short haul shanty which was often sung during long voyages between English ports and the ports of Australia.

'Sloop John B'  is a Bahamian shanty that was was very popular throughout the 19th century but lines from Sloop John B can be recognized in the Beach Boys 1966 song 'I wanna go home'.  

'Drop of Nelson's Blood' orginially that was as story that after Nelsons death in the Battle of  Trafalgar his body was preserved and his blood was drank by the sailors. This story later became told in song as 'Roll the Old Chariot', listed above. 

Shanties recently resurfaced as a trend on tik tok due to is repetitive rhythm and ever changing lyrics. The Wellerman is a shanty that went viral and many people began creating their own versions of the song.  

    Shanties were most often sung by men due to men mostly being sailors as sailing was considered to be too dangerous for women at the time. While shanties were created to pass time and help easy tasks many of the shanties today can be seen as vulgar, encouraging alcoholism, violence and overall very sexist. 

Shanties are nothing like what I thought I would be listening too, I was expecting something from Pirates of the Caribbean. However the traditional shanty shows what life was life for sailors and how hard it was. This also shows how long music has helped heal people, even when no instruments were available music was still made and changed. Sailors adored music which is how the tale of sirens began, luring sailors in with their voices. 

Traditional shanties are currently in a decline and aren't being used as much as work songs as they used to. Yet sea shanties were used up until the 1930s.

However in a way sea songs are still sung to this day, maybe not in a traditional sense. Everyone can recognized the songs of Pirates of the Caribbean and popular pop songs of the same style, were written with the traditional basic rhythm just changing the tune, words and including instrumentals. 

The history of Shanties cannot be traced to one specific origin but has a beautiful wordly blend due to the diverse ethnic background of each sailor. 

Sources:

https://www.classical-music.com/features/articles/five-best-sea-shanties/ 

https://blogs.loc.gov/folklife/2021/01/a-deep-dive-into-sea-shanties/#:~:text=During%20the%20logging%20season%2C%20many,where%20African%20American%20laborers%20lived https://www.rmg.co.uk/stories/topics/sea-shanty-facts-history-meaning

https://www.classical-music.com/features/articles/five-best-sea-shanties/

Music and Family

     I chose to interview my Aunt Jenna for this blog topic this week, for reference my Aunt Jenna is my mother's kid sister of 13 years. Growing up Jenna had music playing everywhere constantly, it was apart of her. I never related to music much when I was younger but later grew to appreciate it, I first wanted to know what started Jennas love for music. 

Jenna: "When I was a kid my mother had music playing in the kitchen all the time, it was typically older country music, people like George Strait and Faith Hill. I hated it, it was the only genre she ever played. But when it came for christmas time Elvis Presley's Blue Christmas would play throughout the house and his voice just scratched my brain so nicely he became my first artist obsession.  

I also learned that many people use music as an escape from reality or their own life and I wanted to know if Jenna fell back onto music like that and if so when?

Jenna: I absolutely used music to get me through tough times, my parents were divorcing when I was in high school. Music was the only thing that made me understand that other people have felt the way I did. Even know when Matt (her husband) and I are having a problem music helps me feel all the emotions that I try to push down. We play music at night for the baby (shes pregnant), we want em' to love music the way Matt and I do.   

We continued talking about music and it led us to talking about when she was around 15..

Jenna: Okay so when I was around 15, nobody monitored me so I could pretty much do what I wanted, anyway I would sneak out of the house with my friends and we would go to these parties in the basements of the senior kids houses I would hang out with. Well my friend and I snuck out to this party one time and got in our heads that it was a good idea to have this guy pierce my bellybutton...I laid up on the couch and get it done (mind you this man is not a professional) and because of that the song "Get Ur Freak On" I can't hear without thinking of that night (that was the song that was playing). 

The thing about Jenna is that music encompasses who she is, she has Elvis's signature tattoo behind her ear, as a child she had a dog named Presley after him, she gave me a poetry book written by Halsey before I left and even sends me song recommendations she thinks I would like.    

  

Grunge

Grunge

What is Grunge? 

Let’s start with, what is grunge? Grunge is a subgroup of rock and heavy metal music that came about in the early 1990’s inSeattle Washington. As a child of two parents who were had kids way too young and were inter 20’s during the golden age of grunge, you can say I listened to it a lot growing up. Grunge lyrics are some that brings up hard hitting and controversial topics such as social alienation, abuse, mental health, addiction, and the desire for freedom. The wide variety of topics that the music discusses allow for a wide variety of listeners to connect and identify with the music and the artists themselves.

Instruments

Grunge instruments themselves includes bass, drums, vocals and the electric guitar. The electric guitar offers a buzz-like sound mixed with the sound of a 1970’s stomp box pedals. The electric guitar and its solos are a major ingredient in grunge. Many bands during the grunge era were influenced by different genres allowing for an array of other instruments as well. It shares a similar lo-fi and lyrical sound with punk music but was deeper and darker than punk music causing a decrease in up beat tempo. 

Fashion

While instrumentals were key in grunge fashion within the grunge community wasn’t of utter importance it can be described as a “mundane everyday style” dressed in clothing that many would wear around their home. Grunge attire consisted of oversized sweaters, combat boots, t- shirts, flannels and ripped jeans. The reasoning behind this was simply because many artists and bands did not make a lot of money and were on the less fortunate side, without much disposable income it was easier to just wear you have. Kurt Cobain was the lead singer of the band Nirvana their music discussed everything from repression to sexism, it is said in many interviews that Cobain did not want to be famous or wealthy but simply to make music, he later died of a drug overdose. The adoption of grunge into main stream media began with Alice and Chains Nirvana and Sound garden being signed by major record labels, but it was the fashion that carried the music. The style that grunge music came with quickly worked its way into the magazines and runways. 

Nirvana

On September 24, 1991 Nirvana released what was unknowingly going to be one of the most impactful albums ever made, dynamically the album was extremely fluid. It combined ideas of soft and loud song structures, and combined them with ideas from bands like Pixies, The Beatles, and Black Flag. The album also combined the angst and anger of the then popular Generation X bands with the happy, go-lucky pop songs that Cobain and many others grew up with. The music was loved by adults and kids but also became a point of contention from those of extreme religious background, making claims that the album twisted the ideals of Generation X.

Pearl Jam

Pearl Jam is a band similar to Nirvana in which they paved the way for grunge music, their music consisted of combining the riff heavy rock of the 1970’s with the 1980’s angry post punk. They pulled inspiration from bands like Led Zeppelin, The Who, and Neil Young. Pearl Jam’s music is that of which has had a huge impact on the people “Pearl Jam’s sound has always sought to make a personal connection with every listener”, I truly believe is because of the controversial topics that grunge music discusses. Pearl Jam came to be a band by due to the lead singer of Mother Love Bone, Andrew Wood, passing away from heroine over dose and the band joining Eddie Vedder and Mike McCready. 

Sound Garden 

In 1988 Sound Garden released its first album “Louder than Love” and continued to hit top chart after top chart. Shortly after Sound Gardens release Kurt Cobain dies of overdose (ruled suicide but I have my own opinion). Sound Garden releases a final album called “Down on the Upside”  right before the bands split in 1997. Lead singer of Sound Garden, Chris Cornell later goes on to start another band in 2001 known as no other than Audio Slave, Cornell died in 2017 at the age of 52 from suicide. 

Grunge Music has changed and helped further the development of music from heavy metal to the weird rock/rap/pop we have now in mainstream media. Grunge connected generations through trauma, addiction, and other hard hitting topics that now in 2022 are becoming more socially acceptable to talk about openly. 

 

Citations:

Bush, Evan. “How Chris Cornell and Soundgarden Shaped Seattle's Music Scene - and 'Destroyed the '80s Music'.” The Seattle Times, The Seattle Times Company, 18 May 2017, https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/how-chris-cornell-and-soundgarden-shaped-seattles-music-scene-and-destroyed-the-80s-music/. 

“Grunge.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 28 Oct. 2022, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grunge#Electric_guitar. 

“Pearl Jam: Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.” Pearl Jam | Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, https://www.rockhall.com/pearl-jam#:~:text=Inductee%20Insights%3A%20Pearl%20Jam,-Inductee%20Insights%20explores&text=Grunge%20gave%20birth%20to%20a,a%20pioneer%20of%20this%20era. 

Starkey, Arun. “The Lasting Cultural and Musical Impact of Nirvana Album 'Nevermind'.” Far Out Magazine, 24 Sept. 2021, https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/the-lasting-cultural-and-musical-impact-of-nirvanas-nevermind/. 

Gender :/

     This topic is especially interesting to me as I consider myself to fit into a different category of just man or woman. I am genderfluid, for those who don't know gender fluid is exactly what it sounds like the fluidity between genders. Gender fluidity is weird, it's a constant not knowing. Some days are easy and some days aren't, it feels like a constant cycle of being comfortable with how you look in the body you're given and others it creates this pit in your stomach where everything looks and feels just wrong. These are things that I have just recently found out about myself, and I understand that not everyone will know what I am talking about but within coming to Converse and seperating myself from the conservative, christian household where gender was not up for discussion, I've found comfort in music knowing that someone knows what it feels like to not ever really know. 

     Music in and of itself has been know to be very sexist and not necessarily in a bad way but there are specific gender roles that were filled just like anything yet in modern day more artists are no longer conforming. More and more artists over the years have shared larger pieces of their lives like sexuality and gender. Demi Lovato is an example of that, Demi identifies as non-binary and uses they/them pronouns. Their most recent album resonates with a lot of people not just because of the messages behind them but because of the person who writes them. I personally will become way more obsessed with a song if I feel like I know the artists story. 

"Freak" by Demi Lovato and YUNGBLUD isn't a song about gender but YUNGBLUD is another artist who is very open about his sexuality and openly discusses hard hitting topics not only in his songs but at his concerts as well. Many artists will collaborate on the The openness of artists help me feel connected to something especially when it's been been a hard day. 

Growing up in my house wearing boys clothes wasn't okay for a girl, dresses always needed to be worn at nice events because pants were for men, and even the basic things like always expect a man to open the door for you. I never understood that because when it came to clothes I just wanted to be comfortable and I didn't understand why I couldn't open my own door, as I've grown it was never about whether I could or couldn't but what was socially expected. 

    "Verbatim" by Mother Mother, I absolutely love this song it questions gender in clothing, what defines a man or a person's sexuality. I heard this song about a year ago and it quickly became part of my everyday playlist. It touches on things that would typically not come in an everyday conversation and it shows a little window into the artists as people. 

   

     I think that gender and sexuality in music is something that is needed as a way to express differences rather than uphold the gender normalities, everyone is a different person who goes through different experiences that shape us into individuals that we are and those who share the emotions that come with it become a life-line to another simply through music. 

Celtic Funeral Rituals

     I chose to explore the world of Celtic funerals, I myself have been to a wake and unfortunately I was very young and don’t remember much, but from the way I had seen it in movies and tv shows I knew I wanted to know more. The idea of a wake is originated from the pagan tradition.  An Irish wake is a celebration of the life of the loved one who recently passed, it is designed to ease the suffering of the family and friends. 

Like many cultures there is a viewing and a funeral however things are done a bit differently in the Celtic tradition. For starters when the person is first passed on the window is opened near the body for the spirit to exit the body and is then closed promptly 2 hours after opening to prevent the spirit from entering the body. A wall of loved ones is also formed around the body as to protect it from evil spirits. Candles and shoes are also placed at the bottom the bed to ensure safe travels through purgatory. All curtains are drawn except the one closest to the body, mirrors are flipped or covered and the clocks are set to the time of death out of respect to the deceased. Keening is a term referred to the crying, mourning or wailing of the deceased and keening could begin until the body was prepared and evil spirits were kept away, most keeners were women and professional keeners/mourners would even be hired to start the grieving process. A principal mourner can even be brought in and is the one who initiates the first note or wail of the grieving process. 

    This video explains the regions and different styles of singing and “keening” better than I ever could, it also gives you an example of how the music is sung and why. This video also should start at 3:59 but I might have lied so ya'll can skip ahead if it doesn't already

    Games were also created and played at the wake in order to stay awake or “vigil” to look over the deceased in order to prevent the spirits from taking the deceased. A game called “Parish of the Priests” was played along with “Hide the Gully” and a game that consisted of lifting the corpse, essentially a competition of strength 

This is an example of Parish of the Priests still being played and carried on in the classroom. These games only took place at the wake up until the mid-1900s.

Some Other Basic Customs:

• Laying clay pipes, tobacco and snuff (on chest or next to body)
• Every male too a hit of the pipe, smoke was believed to keep away evil spirits

Music and Me

     Growing up I always listened to what my parents played on the radio. I honestly did not like music up until recently, to me music was just always background noise or something to pass time while driving. I never felt the connection to music that everyone talks about and by no means is this the kind of music that I connect with emotionally. This kind of music is the kind that I would play when I am cleaning or driving, the intense meter and beat always make me want to bump my head. 

Cypress Hills Insane in the Brain

Especially in this song the weird whistle or neigh in the back just itches my brain nicely and I'm sure to some it is quite literally the worst. 

 Insane Clown Posse- My Axe

Insane clown posse is most definitely an older band but I loved hearing it all of my childhood, I tried to pick the cleaner of their songs just because they don’t have many (if any) that i would play outside of my headphones. I love the change of beat and ever changing timbre throughout the song. 

Now onto my last example, I know I basically gave songs that all have a similar genre. Kid Rocks "Bawitdaba" is a little too repetitive for me, but overall the way the beat changes throughout the others tickles my brain nicer but I really enjoy the tempo of this song. It is definitely a go to for me when it comes to cleaning or working.

These are the songs that resonated with me on the spiritual level, it took me years up until very recently to find a connection to music. This first song brought tears to my eyes as I listened to the words that hit a little too close to home.

Past Life- Jules Paymer

Throughout the writing of this song Jules Paymer is discovering herself like many trans youth today.  Jules Paymer "Past Life" talks about how they have loved and lost many people simply for being their most genuine self. I use they/them pronouns and to hear of someone else experiencing a similar kind of trauma that I did. The same could be applied to Conan Grey- Family Line to hear that we as a society are not alone and for someone to put words to the feelings that many of experience each day really hits home for me.  

Kodaline- The One ,

Much like the others for me, comes from my childhood. My dad introduced this song to me when I was around fourteen or fifteen, at that time my sexuality was extremely confusing but I found sanctuary in knowing that love like what is discussed in this song really exists. I knew that I wanted to find love like that one day. I knew and still know that I want to incorporate it into my future wedding one day. 

I never have been able to get behind reggae music as a whole genre but for some reason Bob Marley’s “Buffalo Solider” itches my brain in a weird way, something about the tempo and beat of the song makes my heart race and heightens my anxiety.

Bob Marley- Buffalo Solider

Billie Eilish- When the Party's over

Billie Eilish's voice is beautiful and I absolutely love her vocal range however I’m sure my inability to listen to “When the Party's Over” is because i saw it with the music video first and the black tears running down her face on top of the eerie softness in her voice just creeps me out. I will say though that her creativity regarding the music videos is dope as hell I just wish it had more head banger music pair with it.