I graphed "shanty" and "chanty" together—because I've always been confused about which spelling was to be preferred—and I found that "chanty" peaked in 1800 and has been declining ever since, while "shanty" didn't appear until around 1820, peaked at around 1900, and has been generally declining except for a secondary peak around 1940, which probably coincides with the folksong revival.

Of course, "shanty" could mean a building, which makes the conclusion a bit doubtful.

I don't think you have to be particularly serious-minded to like this; you just have to be curious about words. In fact, maybe the more serious-minded you are, the sooner you get bored with it!