The style of the "Cheer'ly Man," which resembles so-called "sing-outs," indicates how distinct it was from presumably later-developed songs that form the core of the chanty genre. It really was in its own class, even if its great popularity and, at one time, rather exclusive association with hauling tasks of any length meant that it lived on into the "chanty era." Was "Cheer'ly" a proto-chanty? In that it does not exhibit aspects of the core formal and stylistic paradigms of chanties, my answer is negative. However, so far as the shipboard working context is an important aspect of chanty history, this song, being a means for a small crew to haul up a heavy object, is an important trendsetter for that aspect.

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