The Greenland Fisheries
Whale's Tale: Tragedy on the Arctic Waves
Lyrics
When the whale gets striked and
Describing the action of harpooning a whale.
The line run down
Referring to the harpoon line running out.
And the whale makes a flunder with his tail
Depicting the whale's reaction by making a sudden movement with its tail.
And the boat capsized and I
Narrating the consequence of the whale's action - the boat overturns.
Lost my darlin' man
Expressing the personal loss of a loved one in the incident.
No more no more Greenland for you brave boys
Declaring that the Greenland fisheries are no longer accessible for the brave boys.
No more no more Greenland for you
Reiterating the unavailability of Greenland for the brave boys.
'Twas in eighteen hundred and sixty three
Providing the historical context - the year 1863 when the ship set sail for Greenland.
Of June the thirteenth day
Specifying the date of departure, June 13th.
That our gallant ship her anchor weighed
Describing the ship lifting its anchor and heading towards Greenland.
And for Greenland bore away brave boys
Emphasizing the bravery of the boys going to Greenland.
For Greenland bore away
Repeating the ship's course towards Greenland.
The look-out in the crosstree stood
Introducing a lookout in the crosstree with a spy-glass.
With a spy-glass in his hand
Depicting the lookout's act of observing the surroundings.
There's a whale there's a whale
Announcing the sighting of a whale.
There's a whale-fish he cried
Stating that the whale is a whale-fish.
She blows at every span brave boys
Highlighting the whale's spouting action at regular intervals.
She blows at every span
Repeating the whale's spouting behavior.
Well we struck that whale and
Describing the act of striking the whale with a harpoon.
The line paid out
Explaining the process of paying out the harpoon line.
But she made a flunder with her tail
Portraying the whale's reaction to the harpoon by making a sudden movement with its tail.
The boat capsized and I lost my darlin' man
Recounting the tragic outcome of the boat capsizing and the loss of a loved one.
And we never caught that whale brave boys
Expressing the failure to capture the whale.
We never caught that whale
Reiterating the unsuccessful attempt to catch the whale.
Oh Greenland is a dreadful place
Characterizing Greenland as a harsh and unforgiving place.
A land that's never green
Describing Greenland as a land devoid of greenery.
Where there's ice and snow
Enumerating the icy and snowy conditions in Greenland.
And the whale-fishes blow
Highlighting the presence of whale-fishes in Greenland.
And daylight's seldom seen brave boys
Emphasizing the scarcity of daylight in Greenland.
And daylight's seldom seen
Repeating the rarity of daylight in Greenland.
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