From C. Fox Smith:
This is, strictly speaking, more of a chant than a shanty. It dates from the eighteen-fifties, and provides an interesting example of the sort of solo recitation used formerly by sailors when performing individual tasks. It is worth noting that the opening phrase – "There goes one:" is that used by captains of bellringers when beginning a peal.
The particular occasion when this chant was used was when stowing cargo, such as saltpetre in bags, which, after it had been placed in the hold, had to be hammered in to obviate any risk of shifting, with heavy wooden mallets known as "commanders."
It was really spoken or intoned rather than sung, with the stress (corresponding to the blows of the mallet) on the italicised words.