There is a 'Sailor's Alphabet,' a 'Fisherman's Alphabet,' a 'Shantyboy's Alphabet,' and a 'Miner's Alphabet,' I'm conscious of several versions of the Sailor's Alphabet. This sort of thing

A is the Anchor that holds a bold ship,
B is the Bowsprit that often does dip.
C is the Capstan round which we must wind, and
D are the Davits on which the jolly boat hangs.

So hi derry, hey derry, ho derry down,
Give sailors their grog and there's nothing goes wrong,
So merry, so merry, so merry are we,
No mortal on earth like a sailor at sea.

Which seems to come form the world of the sailing ship, perhaps 19th century, and before the age of steam ships. Certainly post a certain level of education. Where I live the first charity schools we're started in the late 18th century. I could certainly imagine these songs having a genesis about then.