Published for the American Folklore Society as part of their Memoir Series, this 125-page study surveys the importance of sea shanties in the Leeward and Windward Islands of the West Indies. The first essay examines the documentary record of work songs in the islands and throughout the maritime world. The remaining essays describe the use of shanties for fishing, whaling, and other labor in places like Nevis, Bequia, and Barouallie. Includes lyrics and music for 45 songs.

Roger D. Abrahams (1933–2017) was a leading American folklorist who specialized in the expressive cultures of the African diaspora. A professor at the University of Pennsylvania, he founded Penn’s Center for Folklore and Ethnography, served as president of the American Folklore Society (1979), and was instrumental in creating the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress. Abrahams was also an accomplished folk musician who sang with Paul Clayton and Dave Van Ronk on the Folkways album Foc’sle Songs and Shanties and released his own solo LP in 1962.