Richard Shindell - Humpback Whale lyrics

written by Harry Robertson Fifty six I sailed aboard A ship called Byron One She's carried trawler men on deck And a harpoon whaling gun Chorus: Oh you trawlermen, come on Forget your snapper and your prawn For it's out of Ballina we'll sail Fishing for the humpback whale A tractor for a whale winch And the ship's an all fair mile Twin diesels turn the screws around She'll whale in a fine old style [ chorus ] Keep a sharp look-out my lads The whale he's on the run And we'll drive him into Byron Bay And we'll shoot him with our gun [ chorus ] The harpoon and the line fly through Very deep into the whale She split the timbers of the ship With a flurry of her tail [ chorus ] The rugging struts are snapped in two We reel beneath the blow The gunner fires a k**er shot And that humpback's sent below [ chorus ] Make the tail fast to the bows We got no more time for bed For four and twenty hours each day We kept that factory fed [ chorus ] The friends and men upon the land Some had been Jackaroos They skin the blubber from the whales Like they were skinning kangaroos [ chorus ] A hundred whales and then fifty more Through the factory we did send And then the orders came - knock off me lads Your season's at an end [ chorus ] Back in to Ballina we steered Tied up and stowed the gear All hands headed for the pub And we filled ourselves with beer [ chorus ]