Training an interdisciplinary lens on twenty-four unexpurgated texts, author Jessica M. Floyd interrogates the articulation of gender, sexuality, and identity as it is expressed in these cultural artifacts of the sea. Opening with both a critical explication of the chantey genre, as well as situating Hugill's repertoire in the canon of folksong, the book introduces readers to the critical realities that attend this rich cultural tradition. Analytical chapters demonstrate the kaleidoscopic representation of gender and sexuality in this finite repertoire. Each inquiry is connected and overlapping, demonstrating an ebb and flow not unlike the waters on which the songs were sung. Words of warning, heteronormative economies, and queer undercurrents each collide to present an image of sailing life that is nuanced and complicated, provocative and evocative, transgressive and sometimes radical. The volume allows scholars to place a finger on the pulse of maritime life, feeling and experiencing one voice among the din of working-class song traditions.