Cheer'ly Man

DESCRIPTION: Shanty. "Oh, Nancy Dawson, hio! Cheer'ly, man! She's got a notion, hio! Cheer'ly, man! For our old bosun, hio! Cheer'ly, man, Oh! hauley, hio! Cheer'ly, man!" Various women are mentioned, perhaps linked to members of the crew, who are urged to pull hard
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1909 (Heart-Songs)
KEYWORDS: shanty nonballad
FOUND IN: US
REFERENCES (8 citations):
Shay-AmericanSeaSongsAndChanteys, pp. 32-34, "Cheer'ly, Man" (2 texts)
Colcord-SongsOfAmericanSailormen, p. 77, "Cheerly, Man" (1 text, 1 tune)
Hugill-ShantiesFromTheSevenSeas, pp. 312-315, "Cheerily Man," (2 texts, 2 tunes) [AbEd, pp. 234-237\
Sharp-EnglishFolkChanteys, XLV, p.50, "Cheerly Man" (1 text, 1 tune)
Terry-TheShantyBook-Part1, "Creer''ly Men" (1 text, 1 tune)
Kinsey-SongsOfTheSea, pp. 90-91, "Cheerly Man" (1 text, 1 tune)
Heart-Songs, p. 75, "English Chanry" (1 text, 1 tune)
DT, CHEERLY
Roud #395
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "Haul 'Er Away (Little Sally Racket)" (form, lyrics)
NOTES [174 words]: Shay believes that this is mentioned in Dana's Two Years Before the Mast. The section quoted makes it appear likely, but Dana did not actually quote text, merely the singing of "Cheerily, men," which might just possibly be ship's idiom.
Similarly, the article "On Shanties," in E(neas) S(weetland) Dallas, editor, Once a Week, New Series, Number 31, August 1, 1868 (published by Bradbury and Evans and available on Google Books), p. 92, gives this fragment:
Pull together, cheerily men,
'Gainst wind and weather, cheerily men,
For one another, cheerily men, O,
Cherrily men, O, cheerily men.
There is a further excerpt on p. 93. The form is different enough that I would not say categorically that it is the same song without a longer sample. Still, it is likely that the song is much older than the known texts.
Lloyd and others lump this with "Haul 'Er Away (Little Sally Racket)." There is certainly similarity in the form, and in some of the lyrics, and in the idea, but the choruses are different enough that I tentatively split them. - RBW
Last updated in version 6.6
File: ShayS032

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