Ballina Whalers / The Humpback Whale - Nic Jones

An Australian folk song written in the 1960’s by Harry Robertson about whaling for humpback off the east coast of Australia.
This song is from his album 'Whale Chasing Men: Songs of Whaling in Ice and Sun' which is a whole album about his whaling adventures.

The way i play it here is based on the Nic Jones version recorded in the early 1980s, from his album 'Penguin Eggs'. Lyrics below;

Fifty-six I sailed on board
A ship called Byron One
She's carried trawler men on deck
And a harpoon whaling gun

Chorus
Oh you trawler men, 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 old Fairmile
Twin diesels turn the screws around
She'll whale in a fine old style

Keep a sharp look-out me lads
The whale he's on the run
And we'll drive him into Byron Bay
And we'll shoot him with our guns

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

The rigging struts are snapped in two
We reel beneath the blow
The gunner fires a killer shot
And that humpback sank below

The flensing men upon the land
Some had been jackaroos
They skin the blubber from the whales
Like they're skinning kangaroos

Back into Ballina we steered
Tied up and stowed the gear
all hands headed for the pub
to fill ourselves with beer

Видео Ballina Whalers / The Humpback Whale - Nic Jones канала Paddy Boyle