There once was a ship that put to sea
The name of the ship was the Billy of Tea
The winds blew up, her bow dipped down
Blow, my bully boys, blow (huh)
Soon may the Wellerman come
To bring us sugar and tea and rum
One day, when the tonguing is done
We'll take our leave and go
She'd not been two weeks from shore
When down on her a right whale bore
The captain called all hands and swore
He'd take that whale in tow Chorus Da da da da da...
Before the boat had hit the water
The whale's tail came up and caught her
All hands to the side, harpooned and fought her
When she dived down low (huh) Chorus
No line was cut, no whale was freed;
The Captain's mind was not on greed
But he belonged to the whaleman's creed;
She took that ship in tow (Huh!) Chorus
For forty days, or even more
The line went slack, then tight once more
All boats were lost, there were only four
But still that whale did go Chorus
As far as I've heard, the fight's still on;
The line's not cut and the whale's not gone
The Wellerman makes his a regular call
To encourage the Captain, crew, and all Chorus
