July 2024 “Four Hours”

Written by Josh Bowker of the Longest Johns and released on their 2020 Album, “Cures what Ails Ya”, four hours is an excellent example of a modern rendition of the sea shanty style. Modeled after a typical short haul shanty, this tunes short and repetitive nature would make it ideal for short tasks on a sailing ship.

Four Hours refers to the system of watches and rest periods that ships of the British navy used throughout a day. Sailors would work their first watch of four hours, and then typically they would be given a two hour break, and then four hours back on before their days work was done. Sailors would listen for a series of chimes from the ships bell, if they had one, that would ring a certain number of times signaling which watch was up next.

The repetitive rhythm and melody of this tune makes it ideal for a shanty man to play around with lyrics to fit them to the ships crew and their current situation. You can hear the jovial nature of the lyrics in many places and see how a tune like this could simultaneously lift the spirits of sailors, while taking their mind of their menial tasks at hand. - Nathan Bills