The tune known as the Sailor's Hornpipe is an old well-known song dating back to the 1700s. It is not exactly clear who wrote the song, but it was found in a collection of manuscripts 1770 put together by William Vickers in England and was known as the College Hornpipe. It became the Sailor's Hornpipe when it was used by sailors as a dance aboard their ships, primarily required by their Captains to keep fit on long voyages. The dance of the Sailor's Hornpipe resembles the duties of a sailor and does not require much space to accommodate the tight confines of the early sea vessels.
Today the Sailor's Hornpipe is considered a classic and has been featured in numerous theme parks, movies, cartoons, including the main theme song of the Popeye cartoon popular in the early to mid 1900s.