the.com/sea shanty

means A rhythmic work song sailors sang to coordinate heavy labor like hauling ropes or hoisting sails, with a leader calling lines and the crew hollering the response.

from The word 'shanty' (also spelled 'chanty' or 'chantey') likely comes from the French 'chanter,' meaning 'to sing' — plausibly filtered through French-speaking sailors and dockworkers, especially in ports like New Orleans, where English and French maritime cultures mixed. Some have floated a connection to 'chant' or even to ramshackle dockside 'shanties' where sailors gathered, but that's folk etymology riding along for the fun of it — the singing link to 'chanter' is the one most etymologists actually back, though the precise path into English remains a little hazy.