What is a Wellerman in that Viral TikTok Sea Shanty?

And why are we singing sea shanties now?

If you’ve been on Tiktok recently, then chances are pretty good that sea shanties made their way to your “For You” feed. Of all things in 2021, though, a good old fashioned sea shanty sung by a handsome Scottish man seems a bit weird. But here we are, and I’ve got some questions.

Who is the TikTok sea shanty singer that is blowing up the internet?

His name is Nathan Evans, and he’s not an accidental singer; he’s actually a practiced musician. Hailing from Airdrie Scotland, a small town outside of Glasgow, Evan spent his days delivering mail and practicing his folk songs. He took to Tiktok and began posting his music. Still, it was one catchy sea shanty called the Wellerman that he sang a capella that exploded in popularity and landed Even a three-album record deal with Universal’s Polydor Records.

The Wellerman video has been viewed more than 10 million times at the time of this story.

So, what’s a Wellerman?

The song title, Wellerman refers to a ship owned by the Weller Brothers company. During the whaling days of New Zealand, in the 1840s, the Weller Brothers (there were three of them) owned and operated a whaling outfit. They would send whaling ships out to see to hunt whales, and when the men would return to the Weller Brother’s station, they would be met by a…