If you fancy a good old shouty, foot-stamping, bawdy singalong, why not join the Deptford shanty crew? The group had its first get-together last week and struck up some classic sea shanties about spending all your money on booze, beating up the Americans, and being sick in an alley, not necessarily in that order.
There are plenty of sea shanties that still survive in folk tradition – and many more for which the words survive but tunes have been lost. There’s even one about the Dog & Bell pub, which was put online by Deptford Misc a few years ago.
One of the songs we sang at the first shanty crew meeting was Santianna – which is rendered here somewhat more tunefully by the Young ‘uns.
You don’t need any singing experience to join – it’s all about having fun, singing and stamping your feet , not necessarily all at the same time! And we can’t think of any better way to celebrate Deptford’s maritime heritage – at least until we can get cracking with building this ship of ours.
For more information email deptfordshanty@gmail.com
