They took us jolly sailor lads
a-
On the fourth day of August in eighteen sixty-
Bound for Greenland we set sail
The lookout stood on the crosstrees high,
with a spyglass in his hand
There's a whale, there's a whale, there's a whale-
And she blows at every span
The captain stood on the quarter deck
and a sod of a man was he
Overhaul, overhaul, let your davit tackles fall
And we'll launch them boats to sea
We strapped that whale and the line played out
but she gave a flurry with her tail
And the boat capsized, we lost seven of our men
And we never caught that whale
Now the losing of seven fine seamen,
well it grieved our captain sore
But the losing of a bloody sperm whale
Oh it grieved him ten times more
Oh, Greenland is a horrid place,
Where our fisher lads have to go
Where the rose and the lily never bloom in spring
No, there's only ice and snow
Recording -
Singers -
The “jolly sailor lads” are headed for Greenland on a whaling expedition. The lookout spots a whale and under orders from the Captain the harpoons are launched. The whale hits the boat with its tail, capsizing it, and seven men are drowned.
Greenland is a self-
GREENLAND WHALER
