An obscure 19th-century sea shanty called 'The Wellerman' is going viral on TikTok, kickstarted by an English folk band, The Longest Johns.

The sea shanty first came about in the 1800s when sailors or merchant navy harbour workers would sing as they loaded ships or waited on ships arriving at shore.

The "Wellerman" shanty is thought to have originated in New Zealand and has no known author, as it describes a crew at sea wrestling with a whale.