work song

American  

noun

1. a folk song sung by workers, with a rhythm like that of their work.

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Etymology

Origin of work song

First recorded in 1920–25

Example Sentences

A performance of the “Kiyari Uta,” a work song dating to the Edo period, paid homage to traditional crafts as giant wooden rings were carried in on a platform, surrounded by glowing paper lanterns.

From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 23, 2021

It’s a call-and-response work song, likely concocted spontaneously by overnight dockworkers cramming bunches of bananas onto ships, hot-footing it away from loose spiders, and fantasizing about rum.

From The New Yorker • Feb. 22, 2017

He was drawn to indigenous American forms, by which he meant the blues, the work song, the Negro spiritual and the show tune, and his compositions referred to those forms.

From New York Times • Apr. 29, 2013

Strachwitz named Arhoolie after a type of work song, a field holler, that had deep roots in African-American musical culture.

From Reuters • Jan. 24, 2013

In fact, it was a famous work song with their own adapted lyrics: “Benifunani eRivonia?,” which means “What did you want at Rivonia?”

From "Long Walk to Freedom" by Nelson Mandela