The Oxford Book of Sea Songs

The sea song holds a special mystery for many, and the sailor's life has a romantic aura all its own. For centuries, songs about the sea have buoyed sailors' spirits throughout their adventures and misfortunes. Bawdy, lyrical, and sentimental, sea songs--often composed by the sailors themselves--relate every aspect of nautical life, from mutiny and shipwreck to pressgangs and piracy to relations with wives and sweethearts.