Beginner Set
The beginner pool is roughly 12 songs — easy choruses, light lead load, minimal or optional instruments. These are the first three months of rehearsals (Phase 1 of the roadmap) plus a few additions that come in early Phase 2. The backbone of every set the crew will ever play.
Each song below has a song-type code: H = halyard, C = capstan, F = forecastle/ballad, P = pub singalong. See the Welcome chapter for the type legend.
The Phase 1 starter eight
These are the songs to learn first — in this order. By month 3, the crew should have all eight under their belt and a working 30-minute set.
1. Roll the Old Chariot (C, D major)
The perfect opener. Three chords. The easiest possible chorus to teach a room cold. Confidence-building first song for every new member.
This is the song you teach a new member in their first ten minutes. If they can't sing the chorus by the end of the rehearsal, the rest of the songs aren't going to land any better.
2. Drunken Sailor (C, D Dorian)
The most famous shanty in the world. Two chords only (Dm and C). Modal. Everyone in North America already knows the chorus.
Use it second because it introduces the minor-modal feel (Dm) that several other songs use, and because the call-and-response cadence is a perfect teaching tool for the shantyman / chorus dynamic. It's also the band's first harmony experiment — the Dm/C loop sits beautifully under octave doubling.
3. Haul Away Joe (H, D major)
The textbook halyard shanty. The pull happens on "haul away!" The whole crew drops the bass note hard on that word. Three chords.
This is where the call-and-response timing matters most. Drill it: the shantyman sings the verse line; the crew yells "Haul away, Joe!" Tight, no hesitation, all voices in at the same instant.
4. Leave Her, Johnny (C, D major)
The traditional homeward-bound shanty — sung at the end of a long voyage when the crew was finally finished pumping out the bilge for the last time. Gentle tempo, three chords, chorus everyone can sing on the second hearing.
Pairs nicely with Roll the Old Chariot and Haul Away Joe as the first three — together they teach all the basic shanty mechanics.
5. Donkey Riding (H/C hybrid, D major)
A rollicking timber-trade song with strong Atlantic Canadian roots — "Were you ever in Quebec, stowing timber on the deck?" Three chords. Floating verses, so new local verses (Miramichi, Mayne Island, Active Pass) can be slotted in.
Why fifth: lifts the energy after the gentler Leave Her, Johnny, and the Quebec / Cardiff / Miramichi place-name verses get a Canadian crowd on side immediately.
6. South Australia (C, D major)
The big "heave away, haul away" chorus. Instant crowd participation. The Longest Johns' arrangement is the modern reference.
Same key as Leave Her Johnny / Donkey Riding (so the crew can flow from one to the other), but with the most energetic capstan feel of any song in the beginner pool.
7. Wellerman (C, Am or Dm)
The viral 2021 sea shanty — Nathan Evans' TikTok phenomenon. New Zealand whaling song from the 1860s, now the modern crowd magnet, near-mandatory for today's audiences. Modal feel (Am-F-C-G or Dm-F-C-Am depending on key).
Why seventh: the modal change-up after a run of straight-D songs gives the set a new colour, and every audience already knows the chorus.
8. The Mingulay Boat Song (F, G major)
The first ballad-mode change of pace. A gentle Scottish/Hebridean rowing song (lyrics by Sir Hugh S. Roberton, 1938) with a gorgeous "heel y'ho boys" chorus. The crew's first soft harmony work.
Why eighth: a deliberate pivot. After seven rowdy songs the room needs to breathe. The Mingulay Boat Song slows the heart rate and shows that this band can sing quietly as well as loud.
The early Phase 2 additions
These get added in months 3–6, alongside the first intermediates. Still chord-skeleton-simple, but with more comic/pub character:
The Eddystone Light (F/P, G major)
Comic, daft, beloved. The lighthouse-keeper-and-mermaid song. Lightens any set. Lead solo on verses, full crew on the "Yo ho ho, the wind blows free" chorus.
The Wild Rover (P, G major)
The Irish pub-classic. "No nay never" + the four-clap. Universally known across the English-speaking world. The audience joins in within ten seconds.
The four claps on "no nay never" are the entire performance. Commit to them.
Bonus Phase 1 pieces
Three more pieces from the broader book that fit Phase 1 in feel and difficulty:
Haul on the Bowline (H, D major)
Possibly the oldest shanty in the entire repertoire (per Stan Hugill). Short-drag form — very short verse, group yells "HAUL!" on the last word of the chorus while pulling. Three chords.
The song to use when you want to demonstrate the original function of shanties to an audience. Hand the whole audience a length of rope tied to a sandbag. Watch the song become what it was 200 years ago.
The Sailor's Alphabet (F, D major)
A forecastle song collected from Nova Scotia seamen by Helen Creighton. Not a working shanty — a between-watches singalong with an A-to-Z alphabet of nautical terms. Three chords. Audience-friendly for any age.
A 30-minute opening set from the beginner pool
For an early appearance (kitchen party, community hall, first low-stakes outing):
- Roll the Old Chariot — opener; teach the room.
- Donkey Riding — keep the energy up; Canadian roots.
- Haul Away Joe — slow it slightly; the halyard pull.
- The Sailor's Alphabet — gentler, kid-friendly; words-driven.
- The Mingulay Boat Song — quiet harmony pivot.
- Drunken Sailor — pick the energy back up; modal feel.
- Wellerman — crowd magnet, viral recognition.
- South Australia — end loud, full chorus.
Approximately 30 minutes at the printed tempos. Adjust the order to match the room.
For a longer set (45 minutes), add Leave Her, Johnny in slot 5 (replacing Mingulay), move Mingulay to slot 7, and finish with South Australia → Wellerman → Barrett's Privateers as a triple-bill closer (Barrett's is technically intermediate per the Intermediate Set, but it works as a Phase 1 audience-grabber).
Where the crew typically struggles
In our experience watching new shanty crews work the beginner set, here's what trips them up:
- Roll the Old Chariot — the lead drops out before the crew is fully singing. Wait one full chorus before dropping to verse.
- Drunken Sailor — the band rushes; tempo creeps up by 20 BPM by verse 3. Use a metronome in rehearsal until it's locked.
- Haul Away Joe — the response "Way haul away, haul away Joe" lands late. Drill it as a separate exercise — lead sings line, crew claps the response timing for five minutes.
- Donkey Riding — the verse melody varies between regional versions; pick one and stick to it.
- South Australia — the band loses dynamic; every chorus sounds the same. Plan it: chorus 1 medium, chorus 2 louder, chorus 3 loudest.
- Wellerman — the F chord on "Wellerman" gets played as Dm. Rehearse the transition specifically.
- The Mingulay Boat Song — nobody knows whose voice carries the high "let her go boys" note. Assign it explicitly.
- The Wild Rover — the band claps too early or too late on the first "no nay never." Tell the audience the timing explicitly the first time around.