Fiddler's Green Whale Song
If I had the wings of a gull me boys, I’d spread them
and fly home
I’d leave old Greenland’s icy ground for of right
whales there is none
And the weather’s rough and the winds do blow and
there’s little comfort here
I’d sooner be snug in an Edinburg pub a-drinking of
strong beer
Oh a man must be mad or want money bad to venture
catching whales
For he may be drowned when the whale turns around or
his head be smashed by the tail
Though the work seems grand to the young green hand and
his heart is high when he goes
In a very short burst you’ll hear the curse and the cry
of "There she blows"
Now there she blows again
This fight is all insane
It’s time for mutiny
To end this misery
So take me home where I belong
I won’t go on with sth. wrong
Don’t count on me and set me free
It’s time to end that misery
All hands on deck now for God’s sake, move briskly if
you can
And you stumble on deck both dizzy and sick, and for
the life you don’t give a damn
And high overhead the great fish sped and the mate gave
the whale the iron
And soon the blood in apurple flood from the spout
whole comes a-flying
These trails we bear for nigh four years till the ship
she points for home
We’re due for our toil a bonus on the oil and an equal
share of the bone
When we go to the agent to settle for the trip when we
find we’ve cause to lament
For we slaved away four years of our lives and earned
about three pounds ten