The Wellerman

There once was a ship that was put to sea And the name of the ship was the Billy of Tea The winds blew hard, her bow dipped down Oh blow, my bully boys, blow Soon may the Wellerman come To bring us sugar and tea and rum One day, when the tonguin' is done We'll take our leave and go She had not been two weeks from shore When down on her a right whale bore The Captain called all hands and swore He'd take that whale in tow (huh) Soon may the Wellerman come To bring us sugar and tea and rum One day, when the tonguin' is done We'll take our leave and go Before the boat had hit the water The whale's tail came up and caught her All hands to the side, harpooned and fought her When she dived down low (huh) Soon may the Wellerman come To bring us sugar and tea and rum One day, when the tonguin' is done We'll take our leave and go No line was cut, no whale was freed And the Captain's mind was not on greed But he belonged to the Whaleman's creed She took that ship in tow (huh) Soon may the Wellerman come To bring us sugar and tea and rum One day, when the tonguin' is done We'll take our leave and go For 40 days or even more The line went slack then tight once more All boats were lost, there were only four But still that whale did go Soon may the Wellerman come To bring us sugar and tea and rum One day, when the tonguin' is done We'll take our leave and go That was a good one As far as I've heard, the fight's still on The line's not cut, and the whale's not gone The Wellerman makes his regular call To encourage the Captain, crew and all Soon may the Wellerman come To bring us sugar and tea and rum One day, when the tonguin' is done We'll take our leave and go Soon may the Wellerman come To bring us sugar and tea and rum One day, when the tonguin' is done We'll take our leave and go