The Limeliters - The Whale lyrics

'Twas in eighteen hundred and fifty three And of June the thirteenth day That our gallant ship her anchor weighed And for Greenland sailed away, brave boys And for Greenland sailed away The lookout in the crosstrees stood With his spygla** in his hand "There's a whale, there's a whale, there's a whale fish" he cried And she blows at every span, brave boys And she blows at every span The captain stood on the quarterdeck And a fine little man was he Overhaul! overhaul! Let your davit-tackles fall And launch your boats for sea, brave boys And launch your boats for sea Now the boats were launched and the men aboard And the whale was in full view Resolved was each seaman bold To steer where the whale fish blew, brave boys To steer where the whale fish blew We struck that whale, the line paid out But she gave a flourish with her tail The boat capsized and four men were drowned And we never caught that whale, brave boys And we never caught that whale "To lose the boat", our captain said "it grieves my heart full sore" But we know the losing of that hundred barrel whale Well, it grieved him ten times more, brave boys It grieved him ten times more The winter star doth now appear So boys, we'll anchor weigh It's time to leave this cold country And homeward bear away, brave boys And homeward bear away O, Greenland is a dreadful place A land that's never green Where there's ice and snow, and the whale fishes blow And the daylight seldom seen, brave boys And the daylight seldom seen