Feena van

I said, in the first post, that Sea Shanties were Black Music. That's true, if not exclusively so. They're also Celt music, just by way of for instance.

It might be better to say, that they're American music.

And American Music is Black Music.

Let's not ignore that.

Cheers.

This is my music. I love it. I love that it's getting love, that it gets to have a moment.

I'd like for folks who might otherwise think of it as a purely white people thing to be able to find connection to it too.

And I'd like for white folks to recognize the debt that's owed to Black music.

I didn't realize until I was an adult that it was that pesky racism again - the same racist instinct that caused a lot of pushback when I posted this thread, folks grasping at straws to find some historical backing that said "No, this thing you love isn't from Black people - it couldn't be!"

I grew up with Mountain Music and Bluegrass. Twice a year my dad and I would even cart off to the woods, to Rockbridge or Mt Airy, for Fiddle Festivals.

I remember, one year, a conversation about whether a group of Caribbean/Gulf fiddlers "belonged," and it blew my mind, because, "Obviously yes?"

...and have modified the melodies so as to fit them for salt-water purposes."

We are not giving Alden a pass on his racism, by the way; just pointing out that folks at the time fully recognized this as a Black musical style.

"Undoubtedly many sailor songs have a negro origin. They are the reminiscences of melodies sung by negroes stowing cotton in the holds of ships in Southern ports. The "shanty-men," those hards of the forecastle, have preserved to some extent the meaningless words of negro choruses...

And because I got pushback on this the first time I posted it, JUST TO BE CLEAR:

Contemporary white authors in the 1800s (when Shanties were still in heavy use) just generally agreed that they were American music with a strong tie to African-American work songs.

Quoting William Alden, in 1882:

A lot of shanties preserve bits of this history in their lyrics.

Eventually, Mobile Bay, one of the main cotton outports in the US, gets called a "Shanty Mart."

A place where sailors and workers would, in the course of loading, offloading, and leisure, trade songs with each other.

The long and short of it is, like most American music, it has a Black pedigree.

Given the interactions between Black slaves and workers with sailors in the various ports of the 18th century, the translation of "Black dockworkers use songs to organize when to lift/pull/haul/stay," to "European sailors think this is a good idea, copy them" is a straight line.

In Martinique, in 1806, a sailor commented: "The negroes have a different air and words for every kind of labour; sometimes they sing, and their motions, even while cultivating the ground, keep time to the music."

These kinds of notes are ubiquitous. White folks noticed, and thought it was novel.

I mean that quite literally. Historically, that's where they come from. While there were some songs that were used to organize work in European cultures, it wasn't widespread for sailors - enough so that they saw and commented on (often enslaved) Black workers singing while they worked.

A great moment to remind people, from my own roots in the Bluegrass / Mountain Music community:

Sea Shanties are Black Music.

From a thread I posted on Twitter way back when, when The Wellerman was having a moment:

GOD, AIN'T THAT JUST THE FUCKING TRUTH.

Likewise, "Southern," as in "No true southerner puts sugar in their grits," ignoring that that's a *common* thing particularly among Black Southern communities.

"We believe that being a sex worker is a powerful shared experience wherein our natural inclinations to survive outside of the state’s control and oversight have the potential to manifest incredibly powerful networks of care, as well as confrontational responses to those who harm us."

This quote isnt just out of touch or disappointing, its fucking dark. Gay people are not a conversation parents need to have with their kids? Knowing gay people exist doesnt require therapy??

Any parents who thinks that way needs to have their kids removed ASAP. Get in a volcano, Pete.

not to be that guy again but i'm trying to raise at least $800 and i'm halfway there. if anyone could give this a boost i'd really appreciate it!!

I have watched this approximately 47 times and laughed out loud 47 times

Can anyone help fundraise money for a vet bill I have? My dog is currently having an emergency with a possibly bowel obstruction and we cannot afford the emergency vet bills and have to wait to get him seen this coming Monday when the vet opens for a lower bill cost. I don't want to loose him.

I need help

I am going to be unhoused soon. My apartment is pushing me out for someone with a better credit score who doesn’t pay late.

I literally have a negative checking account and have a “i need to move in less than 2 weeks” mountain in front of me

I haven’t eaten today

I’m scared

EMERGENCY. NEEDED TODAY. AS YET VERY FAR FROM GOAL, 933 STILL NEEDED

Linktr.ee/hiitsbritt

Please PRIORITISE this. Britt does not have other options. It's this or the streets. PLEASE send whatever you can!

#KeepFolksAlive #MutualAid #Homeless #Emergency #HelpSky #HelpFolksLive2026

Text-based social media post asking for donations for the poster's mother's cancer treatment. Includes the word "Palestine," details on the treatment and donation goal, and a plea for support.

linktr.ee/safety4ruaa?...

chuffed.org/project/help...

For Ruaa,, Via Instagram.

STOP🚨PLEASE
We’re fasting in Ramadan while prices rise & fear of renewed attacks remains💔

Eid al-Fitr is approaching…please help me bring some joy to my daughter & family with clothes & food🙏🏻

On top of this…rent & medicine costs😭
PLs🙏🏻Share & Contribute
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✅ @mommunism.bsky.social

Please share and donate if you can.

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Collage of photos of Ahmed: first photo is of him wearing a blue jacket and black outfit with his trousers rolled up. He’s standing in dirty flood water. Second photo is of his torn tent from flooding, third is of a selfie of Ahmed in his displacement camp and the fourth is another angle of the first photo

I am Ahmed, the sole provider for my family in Gaza.🇵🇸
Anyone who sees my message and donates and shares it is helping to save us from starvation and strengthening our resilience in the tents.

If you would like to stand with us, here is the link to our campaign: ⬇️🫂💸
chuffed.org/project/157281

The immediate stalling

After hours of stalling already

Whatever, due in less than 3 hours

They are really hitting water infrastructure

Help my family Hello everyone, I am Alaa Al-Masry from Gaza, a dental student. I was in my fourth year. I was studying day and night to save my family from poverty and help them. They suffered a lot for my studies. ...

Taking on more work, but Alaa was in contact, she was deleted as I reached out to connect off here, she, I'm 99% certain it's the same Alaa, reached out again and same thing happened.

Ideally I'd be happy if someone was in contact with her, I'm flooded with messages

www.chuffed.org/project/1158...

I'm a disabled, self-taught, professional artist.

There is no excuse for AI, you're just a cunt.

Hi, it's Mohamed's friend.

He writes, "Now that spring has arrived, the radish has begun to produce flowers that will turn into seeds next month."

If you're able to, here's how you can help him support his family; any amount is much appreciated.

bit.ly/help-mohamed