About

Sea shanties were sung by the sailors who plied their trade around the world. They were work songs, often used to help the ships run at their most efficient, but the lyrics reveal a sometimes darker maritime history. Through the shanties we find out about the practice of ‘blackbirding’ – people from Hawaii and Micronesia taken into slavery – we find out about whaling and we can even delve into the story of the American Civil War. In this course we will look more closely at the history behind a number of popular sea shanties and examine the sub-text of these sailor’s work songs. We will also look at the different types of shanties and their musical and lyrical derivation. However, we will not just examine them …. we will also sing them. With a musical accompaniment we will put ourselves into the sailor’s shoes and sing through them to help us appreciate how they were used. They are great fun to sing, so why not come along.

These courses are being run by WEA (Workers Education Association) with the Thames Sailing Barge Trust.

This is a non-accredited face to face course, but you will still need to access the WEA Canvas, their virtual learning environment.

All courses have to be booked in advance and full details are included on the WEA website

Maritime History of Sea Shanties: Course Number: C2228730
To book onto the course you will need to enrol online. Click here to enrol

Or you can call 0300 303 3464 to enrol by telephone.