Sea Chanty and Maritime Music at Pomona College Videos

A great ad-libbed chanty lead by Alex and worked by Pomona College / Pitzer College students on the brigantine Exy Johnson during the April 2017 chanties/sailing workshop for the course American Maritime Musical Worlds

Anyone for some “Drunken Sailor”? One can see why the “real” “Drunken Sailor”—meaning the song as it was sung back in its original tradition of a work-song—was so short. (Usually the same two verses, only four verses at the most, were attested in documentation of this song.) The reason is that, when performed with this "walk-away” maneuver (an old-fashioned maneuver for hosting yards that could only be done in vessels with many crew), the job got done quickly! Song led by chantyman Barry Keenan and demo led by Mystic Seaport Demonstration Squad, with the help of incidental visitors at the Sea Music Festival (June 2015).