What is a sea shanty?

A work song that sailors once sang to keep heavy tasks in rhythm and lift morale on long voyages. Today shanties are sung for the sheer joy of it, in pubs, on quaysides and at festivals.

Who are the Fishermen's Friends?

Probably Britain's best-known shanty singers: a group of fishermen, lifeboatmen and coastguards from Port Isaac. Discovered in 2010, they have recorded albums and even had a film made about them, and still sing on the Platt at Port Isaac.

Where can you hear sea shanties in Cornwall?

In harbourside pubs throughout the year, on the Platt at Port Isaac, and especially at the Falmouth International Sea Shanty Festival each June and the Mevagissey Shanty Festival in October.

Often called the Cornish Anthem, or "The Song of the Western Men", Trelawny was written by the Reverend Robert Stephen Hawker of Morwenstow in 1824, and is sung with great gusto across Cornwall.

What is the Falmouth Sea Shanty Festival?

Founded in 2003, it is Europe's largest free nautical music festival, with dozens of groups singing across the town each June, raising money for Falmouth RNLI.

What are the words to the Cornish sea shanty Trelawny?

Trelawny, properly The Song of the Western Men, turns on its rousing refrain: "And shall Trelawny live? Or shall Trelawny die? Here's twenty thousand Cornish men will know the reason why!" The verses were written by the Reverend Robert Stephen Hawker and first published in 1826, drawing on the imprisonment of a Cornish Trelawny baronet. Though strictly a patriotic song rather than a working shanty, it is sung shoulder to shoulder at festivals, rugby matches and harbourside gatherings, and is widely regarded as Cornwall's unofficial anthem.

Where can I hear live sea shanties in Cornwall?

You can hear shanties year-round in harbourside pubs as well as at the big summer festivals. The Fisherman's Friends sing on the Platt at Port Isaac through the summer; the Cadgwith Singers perform at the Cadgwith Cove Inn on Friday evenings; and members of the Mevagissey Male Voice Choir sing on Monday nights at The Fountain Inn. For the largest gatherings, head to the Falmouth International Sea Shanty Festival in June or the Mevagissey Shanty Festival in October, where dozens of groups perform free across pubs, quays and squares.

What is the difference between a sea shanty and a forebitter?

A sea shanty was a working song, sung to coordinate a shared physical task such as hauling a rope or turning the capstan, with a call-and-response pattern that kept everyone pulling together. A forebitter (or fo'c'sle song) was sung for pleasure once the work was done, when off-duty sailors gathered in the forecastle to pass an evening. Today both are sung purely for enjoyment, but the distinction explains why some shanties have a steady heave-and-pull rhythm while others are simply good stories set to a tune.

What are the main types of sea shanty?

Shanties were grouped by the job they accompanied. Capstan or windlass shanties had a smooth, steady rhythm for long, continuous tasks such as weighing anchor, where the crew walked round and round pushing the bars. Halyard or hauling shanties were built around a strong chorus with pauses in the verses, matching the bursts of effort needed to heave a sail aloft. Shorter "short-haul" shanties suited quick, sharp pulls. The work set the tempo, which is why each type has its own distinctive feel.

Who are the Fishermen's Friends from Port Isaac?

The Fisherman's Friends are a group of singers from the village of Port Isaac on Cornwall's north coast, known for their powerful unaccompanied shanties and folk songs. After being signed to a major label in 2010 they became the first traditional folk act to reach the UK top ten, and their story inspired feature films. They still perform regularly on the Platt, the open quayside in Port Isaac, where crowds gather through the summer to hear them sing the songs of the Cornish coast.

Cornish Sea Shanties & Where to Hear Them

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Singing is a popular pastime in Cornwall both in bands and in less formal pub surroundings. Singing in Cornish pubs is often a spontaneous event and enjoyed by young and old alike.

Sea shanties were originally a way to keep the men on a ship working to a rhythm or as a team. Not a lot of work takes place nowadays while singing - in fact it is most definitely a social event.

The Fishermen's Friends, pictured right, are probably the best known group of Cornish Singers. They can often be seen singing on Friday evenings on the Platt in Port Isaac, but also tour regularly. Please follow link to visit their website and find out more information about them and their planned performances.

Link to Fishermen's Friends website

Falmouth now hosts a fabulous International Sea Shanty Festival which takes place in June each year and Mevagissey now hosts the Mevagissey Shanty Festival in October. For this year's dates for these festivals and information on other Cornish Festivals and Regattas taking place around, please see our Festivals Page.

We've provided the lyrics to a few Cornish songs below but if you'd like to find more of the lyrics to 64 different Sea Shanties and help the RNLI, please purchase our Charity Songbook...

Charity Songbook

We have a PDF song book for you to download which has the lyrics of many of the songs that are sung around Cornwall. All proceeds from this download are used to buy equipment for the benefit of the crews of our local RNLI stations.

All proceeds in aid of the RNLI

Please note that this is a PDF computer file that you will receive via email as soon as you complete your purchase. You will then be able to print out the book at your own convenience

Sea shanty songbook PDF cover, Lyrics to 64 Songs, with a St Piran's flag

Sea Shanty Song Lyrics - PDF Download

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The song book contains a whopping 64 different songs including...

Abide with Me	Hail to The Homeland	Row Boatman Row
Amazing Grace	Home For Flora	Shenandoah
And ‘Tis My Delight’	I Had a Horseshoe	Shoals of Herring
A Soldiers Farewell	Jacob’s Ladder	Sloop John B
Ballad of Widecombe Fair	Lamorna	Song of the Jolly Roger
Black Eyed Doll	Lilly of the Valley	South Australia
Black Velvet Band	Little Brown Jug	Spanish Ladies
Brightly Beams	Little Eyes	Steal Away
By Cool Siloam	Maid of Amsterdam	Battle of Jericho
Calm Is The Sea	Mingulay Boat Song	The Fisherman and his Little Child
Camborne Hill	Molly Malone	The Irish Rover
Church in the Wildwood	Moonlight	The Lords My Shepherd
Cornish Maggie May	Morte Christi (When I Survey)	There is a Green Hill Far Away
Cornish Nightingale	My Grandfathers Clock	The Sailor and His True Love
Cumbayah	Newquay Fishermans Song	Trelawny
Danny Boy	Oggie Land	Vive L’Amour
Deep Harmony	Ol’ Jonny Bugger	White Rose
Dinah Wont Blow your Horn	Old Time Religion	Wild Rover
Dirty Old Town	Padstow Morning Song	Will Your Anchor Hold
Eternal Father	Poor Old Joe	Worried Man
Fields of Athenry	Rio Grande
Gwahoddiad	Robbers Retreat

Trelawny

Trelawny is also known as 'The Cornish Anthem' or 'The Song of the Western Men'. It was written by Robert Stephen Hawker in 1824. Robert Hawker was a vicar in Morwenstow in North Cornwall.

Robbers Retreat

Robbers Retreat is also known as 'The Cadgwith Anthem'. The line referring to the beauty of Kashmir is actually referring to a flower.

South Australia

Common questions

What is a sea shanty?: A work song that sailors once sang to keep heavy tasks in rhythm and lift morale on long voyages. Today shanties are sung for the sheer joy of it, in pubs, on quaysides and at festivals.
Who are the Fishermen's Friends?: Probably Britain's best-known shanty singers: a group of fishermen, lifeboatmen and coastguards from Port Isaac. Discovered in 2010, they have recorded albums and even had a film made about them, and still sing on the Platt at Port Isaac.
Where can you hear sea shanties in Cornwall?: In harbourside pubs throughout the year, on the Platt at Port Isaac, and especially at the Falmouth International Sea Shanty Festival each June and the Mevagissey Shanty Festival in October.
What is "Trelawny"?: Often called the Cornish Anthem, or "The Song of the Western Men", Trelawny was written by the Reverend Robert Stephen Hawker of Morwenstow in 1824, and is sung with great gusto across Cornwall.
What is the Falmouth Sea Shanty Festival?: Founded in 2003, it is Europe's largest free nautical music festival, with dozens of groups singing across the town each June, raising money for Falmouth RNLI.
What are the words to the Cornish sea shanty Trelawny?: Trelawny, properly The Song of the Western Men, turns on its rousing refrain: "And shall Trelawny live? Or shall Trelawny die? Here's twenty thousand Cornish men will know the reason why!" The verses were written by the Reverend Robert Stephen Hawker and first published in 1826, drawing on the imprisonment of a Cornish Trelawny baronet. Though strictly a patriotic song rather than a working shanty, it is sung shoulder to shoulder at festivals, rugby matches and harbourside gatherings, and is widely regarded as Cornwall's unofficial anthem.
Where can I hear live sea shanties in Cornwall?: You can hear shanties year-round in harbourside pubs as well as at the big summer festivals. The Fisherman's Friends sing on the Platt at Port Isaac through the summer; the Cadgwith Singers perform at the Cadgwith Cove Inn on Friday evenings; and members of the Mevagissey Male Voice Choir sing on Monday nights at The Fountain Inn. For the largest gatherings, head to the Falmouth International Sea Shanty Festival in June or the Mevagissey Shanty Festival in October, where dozens of groups perform free across pubs, quays and squares.
What is the difference between a sea shanty and a forebitter?: A sea shanty was a working song, sung to coordinate a shared physical task such as hauling a rope or turning the capstan, with a call-and-response pattern that kept everyone pulling together. A forebitter (or fo'c'sle song) was sung for pleasure once the work was done, when off-duty sailors gathered in the forecastle to pass an evening. Today both are sung purely for enjoyment, but the distinction explains why some shanties have a steady heave-and-pull rhythm while others are simply good stories set to a tune.
What are the main types of sea shanty?: Shanties were grouped by the job they accompanied. Capstan or windlass shanties had a smooth, steady rhythm for long, continuous tasks such as weighing anchor, where the crew walked round and round pushing the bars. Halyard or hauling shanties were built around a strong chorus with pauses in the verses, matching the bursts of effort needed to heave a sail aloft. Shorter "short-haul" shanties suited quick, sharp pulls. The work set the tempo, which is why each type has its own distinctive feel.
Who are the Fishermen's Friends from Port Isaac?: The Fisherman's Friends are a group of singers from the village of Port Isaac on Cornwall's north coast, known for their powerful unaccompanied shanties and folk songs. After being signed to a major label in 2010 they became the first traditional folk act to reach the UK top ten, and their story inspired feature films. They still perform regularly on the Platt, the open quayside in Port Isaac, where crowds gather through the summer to hear them sing the songs of the Cornish coast.

Cornish Sea Shanties

Story notes

The full story