LONDON — With his renditions of centuries-old sea shanties, Nathan Evans has spawned a global craze on the ultra-modern social media platform TikTok. Millions have watched his rendition of ...

From Wellerman to Drunken Sailor, sea shanties are attracting the attention of landlubber TikTokers. "It went wild. I don't really know what happened," says the guy at the center of it all.

It's folly to examine why some things go viral on the internet, and by doing so one risks discounting the beauty of the simplest answer: They just do. Nothing makes sense. Roll with it. Or at least, ...