The Bilge Rats

Saint Augustine's prized shanty group. Dressed out in period clothing, we sing, laugh and and share a bit of history with the folks that come and join us.

We are a group of diverse friends who gather together and recount a bit of history by singing sea shanties, or work songs, from the 17th and 18th century. What are sea shanties? Shanties were commonly sung on board large merchant sailing vessels to ease the labor intensive work done by the sailors. The shanties varied in rhythm to match the tasks on the ship. Other shanties were sung during the ra  ...