Out at sea, sailors worked against the harsh breezes of the open ocean, singing shanties to guide their every task. Every act was accompanied by a song chanted into the wind, the crash of waves a low drumbeat steering the melody ahead. The pace of their work was measured in maritime hymns – their voices, worn, somehow still found harmony with the roaring sea. Shanty suggests this rhythm of song with its rigging of linen and twisting ropes of paper, strung together like a ghostly sail to snare a wayward breeze.