Channel 4 news presenter Jon Snow has shared a clip of himself performing TikTok‘s viral Sea Shanty craze.
Royal Mail worker Nathan Evans became a viral hit on the social media app in December, where his performances of the traditional sailor songs garnered millions of views.
Nathan’s biggest hit came in the form of the New Zealand folk song ‘The Wellerman’ – which has been viewed a staggering 4.3 million times.
Now, Snow has posted his own version of the song on Twitter with the caption: “Sea shanties! Bringing us in the Pandemic together as never before!” You can view the clip below.
Sea shanties! Bringing us in the Pandemic together as never before! pic.twitter.com/PCBiqw3qOg
— Jon Snow (@jonsnowC4) January 15, 2021
The songs were originally sung by merchant seamen as they carried out day-to-day tasks on ships.
“When they were originally sung they were designed to keep everyone in time with the work they were doing,” Nathan recently told BBC Radio 4‘s Today programme.
“So I think its the fact you can get everyone involved, everyone can join in, you don’t need to necessarily be able to sing, the words are simple and it is just the beat and the voices. I think it’s a bit of everything that appeals to everyone.”
According to Google Trends, Nathan’s performances have led to “sea shanties” enjoying their biggest-ever popularity in the search engine’s history.
He added: “Three or four people have recognised me.
“One day I was delivering a parcel to a lady and as I was handing it over she gave me a funny look and said: ‘I’ve seen you on my phone.’”