Shanties are of course songs developed to keep time while doing repetitive tasks aboard ship such as hauling ropes or turning the capstan. Typically there is a "shanty-man" who sings out the verse, with the rest of the work crew pitching in on the chorus. It's generally assumed that the term "shanty" derives from the French word 'chanter' (to sing) although other theories have been suggested on occasion.
Living in a Maritime province, one just naturally picks a lot of these songs up but serious studies have also been made of them. One of Nova Scotia's most celebrated folklorists Helen Creighton spent quite a bit of time travelling around the province in the 1940's and '50's, collecting and recording sea songs and shanties sung by local sailors. And a lot of writing, both fiction and non-fiction, has been done about them.
"Every man sprang to duty. The cheerful chanty was roared out, and heard above the howl of the gale. The cable held very hard, and when it surged over, the windlass sent the men flying about the deck, as if a galvanic battery had been applied to their hands. The vessel's head was often buried in the solid seas, and the men, soaked and sweating, yelled out hoarsely, "Paddy on the Railway," and "We're Homeward Bound," while they tugged at the brakes, and wound the long, hard cable in, inch by inch." - G. E. Clark, Seven Years of a Sailor's Life, 1867
Here are the lyrics for 'Marching Inland':
Words & Music by Tom Lewis
Lord Nelson knew the perfect way to cure your 'mal-de-mer',
So if you pay attention, his secret I will share,
To any sea-sick sailor he'd give this advice for free:
"If you're feeling sea-sick, sit underneath a tree!"
Chorus:
I'm marching inland from the shore, over m' shoulder I'm carrying an oar,
When someone asks me: "What - is that funny thing you've got?"
Then I know I'll never go to sea no more, no more,
Then I know I'll never go to sea no more!
(Chorus)
Columbus he set-sail to find out if the world was round,
He kept on sailing to the West until he ran aground,
He thought he'd found The Indies but he'd found the U.S.A.,
I know some navigators who can still do that today.
(Chorus)
Drake he's in his hammock and a thousand miles away,
Grenville's REVENGE is at the bottom of the bay,
Many's the famous sailor never came home from the sea,
Just take my advice, Jack, come and follow me.
(Chorus)
Sailors take a warning from these men of high renown,
When you leave the ocean and it's time to settle down,
Never cast your anchor less than ninety miles from shore,
There'd always be temptation to be off to sea once more.
(Chorus)
Drake he's in his hammock an' a thousand mile away,
(Capten, art tha sleepin' there below?),
Slung atween the round shot in Nombre Dios Bay,
An' dreamin' arl the time o' Plymouth Hoe.
Yarnder lumes the Island, yarnder lie the ships,
Wi' sailor lads a dancin' heel-an'-toe,
An' the shore-lights flashin', an' the night-tide dashin',
He sees et arl so plainly as he saw et long ago.
Revenge (also verse 3) was the ship captained by Richard Grenville, cousin of Sir Walter Raleigh. He was commanding the Revenge in 1591 at the Battle of Flores, where his ship alone took on 53 Spanish warships in a three day running battle which saw the crippling and/or sinking of a lot of Spanish vessels. The Spaniards boarded the Revenge three times and were fought off, but at last the crew was overwhelmed and captured, with Grenville receiving wounds from which he died a few days later. The Spaniards had no time to gloat however, as their ships ran into a terrible cyclone which lasted for a week and sank many of the vessels which had survived the Battle, including the captured Revenge. Tennyson, who seems to have had a liking for that sort of thing (see The Charge of the Light Brigade) wrote a poem about the Battle of Flores entitled The Revenge: A Ballad of the Fleet. A sample verse:
The little 'Revenge' ran on, sheer into the heart of the foe,
With her hundred fighters on deck, and her ninety sick below;
For half of their fleet to the right and half to the left were seen,
And the little 'Revenge' ran on thro' the long sea-lane between.
Without further ado, here's the song as sung by McGinty: