Watermen dredge oysters from a sailing craft on the Chesapeake Bay in Maryland.
Credit: Library of Congress
Chanteys
Essential Question:
African Americans Singing on the Water
Seafood vessels were almost exclusively operated by men who performed every task necessary for the running of the ships. African American watermen sang several different types of songs (including spirituals) while on the docks and out on the ships. A specific group of these work songs is called chanteys.
The watermen performed chanteys on inland and coastal waterways primarily throughout the Eastern and Southern United States in several locations including along the Mississippi River, as well as in Alabama, Louisiana, Maryland, Georgia, and North and South Carolina.
Some chanteys were newly written while others were adapted from a number of sources such as religious music, other land-based work songs, folk songs, and chanteys from other groups. While some writings on chantey singing traditions largely focused on white American and British watermen, several scholars emphasize the centrality of African American as well as Afro-Caribbean people to chantey traditions.
In the video clip below, a group of retired watermen reflects on their experience. Lloyd Hill of the Northern Neck Chantey Singers explains how and why he and other African Americans sang while fishing.
