Malvina Reynolds - The Whale lyrics

The whale, the whale, The citizen of the sea, He has the right to live And so does she. In the ocean, in the wild, She moves peaceful with her child Till the harpoon wounds her young, And she hovers to protect it, And she's done. The whale, the whale, The citizen of the sea, He sings his sonic song And so does she. He finds his mating ground Till the whaler tracks him down, Every quarter hour, they say, One great whale is done away, Done away. The humpback and the blue, The bowhead and the right, Every quarter hour Day and night. Ocean creatures large and small, There was room enough for all, Till there came the rule of man, Now the gentle whale is dogmeat In the can. The whale, the whale, Four millions used to be Their rightful population In the sea. Few thousands now remain And we harry them again, As the whale goes, and the dolphin, And the ocean, and the forest, So will we.