Wellerman
Santiano Lyrics

There once was a ship that put to sea
The song starts by introducing a ship that sets sail.

The name of the ship was the Billy of Tea
The ship's name was 'Billy of Tea.'

The winds blew up, her bow dipped down
The ship was pushed by strong winds and waves.

Blow, my bully boys, blow (huh)
The sailors on the ship were ordered to keep blowing wind into the sails and keep pushing forward.

Soon may the Wellerman come
The sailors anticipate the arrival of the 'Wellerman.'

To bring us sugar and tea and rum
The sailors hope the Wellerman will bring them supplies such as sugar, tea, and rum.

One day, when the tonguing is done
The sailors are referring to the process of 'tonguing' or cutting the layers of blubber off the whale's body before processing.

We'll take our leave and go
The sailors look forward to the end of the voyage and returning home.

She'd not been two weeks from shore
The Billy of Tea had not been out to sea for more than two weeks.

When down on her a right whale bore
A right whale attacked the ship by colliding with it.

The captain called all hands and swore
The captain called for all the sailors to come and help.

He'd take that whale in tow
The captain planned to capture the whale and take it with them.

Before the boat had hit the water
The sailors spotted the whale before they could launch their boat and harpoon it.

The whale's tail came up and caught her
The whale struck the ship with its tail and damaged it.

All hands to the side, harpooned and fought her
The sailors fought the whale by launching and using their harpoons.

When she dived down below (huh)
The sailors were surprised when the whale dived down below the water.

No line was cut, no whale was freed
Despite the whale's many attempts to escape, the sailors managed to hold onto it and no one was hurt in the process.

The captain's mind was not of greed
The captain wasn't motivated by money or riches.

And he belonged to the Whaleman's creed
The captain was part of a community or group of sailors who hunted whales.

She took that ship in tow
The whale was finally captured and tied to the ship.

For forty days or even more
For over forty days, the whale was pulled behind the ship as they continued their voyage.

The line went slack then tight once more
The whale sometimes swam close to the ship and sometimes moved away but the sailors never lost their grip on the line.

All boats were lost, there were only four
During the fight with the whale, all of the small boats were lost or destroyed, leaving only four boats for the sailors.

But still that whale did go
Despite being captured, the whale remained active and continued to swim.

As far as I've heard, the fight's still on
Even today, people continue to hunt and fight whales in certain parts of the world.

The line's not cut, and the whale's not gone
The sailors still managed to capture the whale and it is still tied up to the ship.

The Wellerman makes his regular call
The Wellerman makes regular visits to the sailors on the ship.

To encourage the captain, crew and all (huh)
The Wellerman's visits serve as a source of encouragement and support for the sailors.

We'll take our leave and go
The sailors will soon be able to leave the ship and end their journey.