English and British Folk Songs and Sea Shanties
In the middle ages in England, minstrels (or singers, like today's buskers listened to other minstrels, picked up their songs, and moved from town to town singing them, especially on market days or during a town's annual fair.
But in those days, as few people could write, the words relied on the singers' memories - so of course the words changed almost every time the song was sung and consequently there are many different versions of each song.
Later, when it became easier to write words down, some versions of a song became the accepted versions. These words, in turn, were (and are) recorded by famous singers.
As Britain is an island, we are a seafaring nation (which means we have a lot of sailors and the sea is an important part of our history). Songs sailors sing, or sang, are called sea shanties.
These pages will have a lot more songs and some videos soon.