WATCH: Isle Of Wight Grandfather's Covid-Inspired Sea Shanty Goes Viral

Friday, 22 January 2021 17:36

By Oliver Dyer @olidyer

An Isle of Wight grandfather has gone viral after writing - and singing - a sea shanty to encourage people to have a COVID-19 vaccine.

82-year-old Martyn Waitt, from Shalfleet, said he was worried that misinformation might stop people having the coronavirus jab.

The founder and leader of the Shalfleet Shanty Singers, who has a life-long passion for sea shanties, wrote and recorded his own version of the trending ‘Wellerman’ shanty.

Motivated by the recent resurgence of interest in shanties on TikTok, Martyn posted videos of himself singing sea shanties at the weekend.

So far, his song has already had more than 389,000 views. He has also gained thousands of followers.

Martyn said:

“I loved seeing sea shanties trend on the TikTok platform recently. It’s great to see a new generation of people liking shanties, it’s a great way to learn from stories about the past. It restored my faith in the youth seeing how creative and joyful they can be on the
platform.”

Martyn said he has been overwhelmed by the thousands of positive and funny comments from fellow TikTokkers.

Even his teenage grand-daughter, an avid TikTokker herself, has been impressed by the number of comments, likes and views he has received.

Martyn served in Royal Army Medical Corps for 12 years and helped administer thousands of vaccines, stopping the spread of malaria and smallpox in Africa.

Martyn and his wife Hilly have already had their covid vaccines.

The pair were forced to celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary at home, rather than with friends and family.

They hope that, in time, the vaccine will change older people’s lives for the better. Martyn said:

“It’s been a tough period for everyone, especially scary for us older folk. If I can help the NHS through raising awareness of the importance of having the vaccine by singing a few sea shanties, that’s great!”.

Watch below:

Martyn's Tik Tok profile can be found here.

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WATCH: Isle Of Wight Grandfather's Covid-Inspired Sea Shanty Goes Viral

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